by Desiree Bustamante

Christ is FOR You—be there in love for others.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this Soundcloud link.

“And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.”
1 Thessalonians 3:12 New Living Translation

We have friends who care for foster children. They adopted one of the girls who stayed with their family and she (we’ll call her Lucy) was accepted quickly by her two brothers as their cherished sister. After a while, another little foster girl (we’ll call her Sally) came into their home and Lucy did not appreciate the sudden invasion of her space or her mommy time.

One day Sally was having a tough moment and nothing could console her. Until…

Lucy reached into her heart and into her stash of French fries and gave Sally one. From that time forward their relationship was transformed. One act of kindness, from a softened heart, changed a sour situation into a sweet moment that turned the tide of a relationship.

In a world of fear and helplessness we don’t always see humanity acting FOR one another. It’s everyone for themselves, and individual rights are demanded even amid people’s suffering. Yet we have a God who is FOR us. He stands behind us to give us courage. He goes before us to prepare a way and to defend us. He is beside us all the way, taking every step with us.

Who is in your life that needs even a small gesture of kindness, but your heart toward them has prevented you from reaching out? Has fear or hurt or a touch of selfishness clouded your heart and mind, preventing you from taking a step in love toward a person whom God is asking you to reach out to?

Someone you know needs you. They need to know that they are loved deeply by a God who is FOR them and will never abandon them in these perilous and formidable times. Jesus wants to help you to know that person, showing kindness and sharing the hope of the gospel. Christ can crumble any wall built in a heart, melt away hostility and heal any hurt in any person, just as He did FOR you. Your step of faith with Christ by your side may not only change someone’s difficult days, but their eternity.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran, Colorado Springs