I was reflecting on my Mother’s Day. It was a good day but not typical. Communication with my kids and grandkids came in the electronic form, not the oh-so-special face to face hugs and kisses kind.
There were attempted phone calls but without a strong signal the calls dropped but the attempt was made and that warmed my heart. One call with a daughter was successful and it was the nice end to the day.
We worked in the morning, there’s quite a bit to do before we welcome campers at the end of the week. Mid-afternoon we enjoyed a nice lunch in town with three friends. And then this morning as I sat here thinking of that time of fellowship I began to wonder about our waitress.
Was she a working mom? How was it that she was scheduled to work this day and not be with family? Were we kind and compassionate to her? I hope we made her day more pleasant. She wasn’t able to be waited on, instead she served a room full of people.
“Finally, all of you should agree and have concern and love for each other. You should also be kind and humble. 9 Don’t be hateful and insult people just because they are hateful and insult you. Instead, treat everyone with kindness. You are God’s chosen ones, and he will bless you. ” I Peter 3:8-9 CEV
Treat everyone with kindness.
How often do we fall back on social media to help us make connections? We like or love a post or a photo. We say congratulations to engagements or births or weddings. All to people we don’t really know.
But our calling of kindness and compassion is greater than that. We are to see people the way the Father sees them. Remember Zacchaeus? He climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus was surrounded by a crowd as He walked the streets that day. So many were wanting to see the Teacher, the Miracle Worker. Zacchaeus wanted to see Him too.
“Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like.” Luke 19:3 CEV
Jesus noticed him. He stopped. Jesus spoke to Him. Zacchaeus’ life was changed.
“Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today you and your family have been saved, because you are a true son of Abraham. 10 The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.” Luke 19:9-10 CEV
Zacchaeus was a hard man to love; he was a tax collector and a cheat. Jesus was drawn to him, He looked for him and he was saved.
We were talking at lunch about people with lots of tattoos. One of our friends has many, each one tells a part of her story, her struggle and her victory. She said how much she enjoys sharing when someone asks her about why she got them. People may be judgmental at first but when they know the underlining story, they soften and meet a wonderful woman. They see the lady that Jesus loves!
Our world is filled with people who want to be seen. Meet them with a heart of compassion. You never know, you may end up liking people you don’t know.