Love is Kind

If I speak in the tongues Or languages of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹²For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13, NIV

Dear Christian,

Even before reading the Bible say that ‘Love is kind’ we already kind of intuit that, don’t we? But do we really stop and think about what it means?

We hold a door open for someone because it’s nice. Love.

We say please and thank you because it’s polite. Love.

We teach our children sportsman ship in little league because it’s respectful. Love.

We help someone cross the road because they are unstable on their feet because it’s helpful. Love.

We invite the new person to lunch because it helps integrate them in to the culture. Love.

We make dinner for the grieving friend because it’s sympathetic. Love.

We say hello to people as we pass by them in the hallway because it’s friendly. Love

There are endless ways to show love in even our small actions. But those small actions can have huge impacts to the person on the receiving end. When we take the extra time to be kind to someone, we are showing that person Jesus. Even if a word is never spoken, we are showing Jesus through our actions. And they say that actions are more powerful than words anyway.

What would happen if we spent time looking to be intentionally kind to someone and made it a daily practice? I think we’d see really awesome things start to happen. 

How are you going to be intentional about kindness?

With Kindness,
Ashley