Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. In the slums we are the light of God’s kindness to the poor. To children, to the poor, to all who suffer and are lonely, give always a happy smile – give them not only your care, but also your heart.- Mother Teresa
That is how I want to live. I want to live with so much kindness pouring out of me. That the only explanation is Jesus.I’m reading the book, “Compelled by Love” by Heidi Baker. Before the World Race, I’ve never heard of this Heidi Baker fellow, but my teammates have raved about her. So thought, I would give this chick a try. I read her biography back in March and was inspired. She has an incredible story of how she came to know Jesus and to give her life to Jesus for missions at an early age. She now has a large ministry, called Iris Ministries, in Mozambique. And it involves healing miracles, raising people from the dead, and reaching the unreached.Anyways, I’m not even half way through the book and I’m convicted to love people more. In less than a month’s time, I’ll be back home in nice, comfortable Canada. No longer traipsing around the world, hopping from country to country. And for some reason, I’ve found it easier to love people around the world these past eleven months than when I was back home. Maybe it’s because I “have to” because I’m a missionary. But that shouldn’t change, no matter where I am.Being at the orphanage at Sarah’s Covenant Homes, I look at these kids with a disability and the smile on their face, and I just want to pick them up and hug them or play with them. And I want that translated into my life in every area, with every person.
A minister’s job is not simply to preach on a platform, standing front of a crowd of people…This is not our primary purpose. Our job is to love each person, one at a time, to stop and lend help every day for each of the suffering and the sick.Some say, “Can we love without money?” The answer is yes. And the simplest way to demonstrate love is to hold someone in your arms, to look them in the eyes, and to offer them a smile. How do you become good news to both the poor and the rich? How do you become love manifested in physical form and see this gospel fulfilled? If you are called as a missionary – a “sent-out one” – then you’re called to comfort those who mourn. You are called to love the broken until they understand God’s love – a love that never dies – through you.Yes, God wants you to do signs and wonders. But the love of God manifested through you is what people really need. “- excerpt from Compelled by Love
I believe that we’re all called to be a minister and missionary in some capacity. We might not all have that title, but we are to love. So I challenge you to love today. To smile today. To be Jesus today.
