Foy Vance & The Ulster Orchestra - Indiscriminate Act of Kindness
Tonight I was hanging out with a few girls from my church, in a group we like to call Potential. When I hang out with these girls every Tuesday night I can expect a whole lot of laughs and friendship and good times, but also awesome God times, I can expect to be challenged. Tonight we studied Acts 4:1-22 (click for link to the passage). One of the things we focused on quite a lot through out the evening was the acts of kindness that the disciples were performing. This kindness was recognised by so many people to be something of God, and many came to faith through this. Yet, as the passage states, the disciples were ordinary men, no one of earthly importance. So if they do this, why can't we?
How amazing would it be if people could see our faith and our God through the things we do every day? It shouldn't be too much effort to perform little acts of kindness to those around us every day, yet do we do it that often? No, simply no we don't. We could be so much better at this! At Potential this week we have challenged ourselves to go beyond the call of duty, and show God's love to our friends, family and even strangers through the things we do for them, the way we treat them. You never know, this could lead them to the God who first loved was kind to us. And I have no doubt that this is what God wants of us, in fact I had an experience on the way home from Potential that made this pretty clear to me.
I was almost home, and the street I was on was still quite busy. Suddenly, out of nowhere, this woman came up to me and stopped me. She was crying, clearly upset and freaking out. She explained her situation and how she had just had an argument with her flatmate and so seemed to have no way home tonight. She asked for my help, quite distraught at her situation and also the fact that she had to ask for help. I was able to pay for her buses home, and she was extremely grateful, trying to work out a way she could somehow pay me back, but I didn't want that. It was a brief encounter, I don't know her name, she doesn't know mine, I only know she works on the street I live on. I do regret not talking to her more, I would have told her about the connection she had to what we were studying tonight. Who knows, maybe I'll see her again. It was strange, I was not the only one on that street, in fact there were a good few other people walking around, yet I was the one she came to. Maybe she saw something different, something approachable in me. I hope so. Basically, I felt like that encounter proved to me that God wants this from us, he wants our kindness, why else would he have immediately presented this situation to me?
So, I want to continue this, not just this week, but beyond. This is our calling, and I dare you to take up the challenge as well. Be kind. Expect nothing in return. Show them God. And in the words of Foy Vance up there, consider it an indiscriminate act of kindness.
