by Luke Kincaid
Last week I found that I was feeling rather down. I was feeling hindered at times by my sadness when trying to comprehend what was going on in our country while also dealing with a few personal things. In these times, I find that I can be largely inactive when it comes to the importance of an active faith. I was reminded this past week that when we are feeling down, we can still do what we can when it comes to serving Jesus. Even small acts of love toward others are possible when we are going through difficult times.
The following verses are one of my biggest motivators when it comes to loving others practically:
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? – James 2:14-16 NLT
I often pop to our local petrol station to a grab a few things when needed and this is when I often bump into my friend I wrote about last week. Something that I have been doing for him recently is purchasing him some bread and cup of hot coffee when I can. A warm beverage and some food to someone who finds themselves fighting from day to day can be such a blessing. On a few occasions I have also asked the security guards where we are currently staying if they would like something from the shops when I am making a trip.
Now my intention of sharing this with you is not to get brownie points of some sort or to puff myself up, but to instead show you that when it comes to loving others practically, we don’t always have to do this in an extravagant way. We can simply do what we can when we feel led by the Holy Spirit to do something. I often find that when showing obedience in this way it often has a positive impact on me in some way thus proving the following words of Jesus that Paul quotes in Acts 20:35 NLT:
35And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
So even though many of us may be going through times of darkness – may we resolve to do what we can to bring some love and light to the world around us.
Much love,
Luke
