Worship Service - August 1
Dear People of Grace:
Unconditional kindness, and the emotionally resilient longsuffering it requires, seems easy when you are not hurting. But God shows us his heart in Christ: He is hurting, yet he is kind. He is present. In God we all live and move and have our being. Your hurt can never precede God’s hurt. That’s not meant to minimize our pain. It’s meant to reveal god’s presence in our pain. Or more rightly said, our attitude reveals how we make our presence known in God’s pain. Jesus is the appearance of the kindness and philanthropy of God (Titus 3.3-5). Don’t let this world beat kindness and philanthropy out of you. Be like Jesus. Be kind and philanthropic even if you get crucified for it.
Everybody wins (God, self, others) when you are kind and philanthropic. Everybody loses (God, self, others) when you choose not to be. Own your choice.