Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you
has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over
all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect
unity.
Glitter, sparkle, shine, but most of all be kind.
When my kids were growing up, our home was kind of messy. We
crafted, drew, glued, and sewed. If the girls had a school project with friends,
our house was often the one where they made dioramas, science projects, and book
reports. On Valentine's Day and Christmas the cards required as much glitter as
they would hold. Little hands scattered the shiny sparkles over white glue and
made a fine mess. Sort of like the sprinkles we shook over Christmas cookies. When
I attempted to vacuum the tiny, sparkly pieces, I inevitably left some behind. It
seemed like I'd find glitter for months, after a project.
What would the world look like if we sprinkled kindness and
compassion like glitter? So much so, that the kindness stuck around and was
difficult to remove. In the third chapter of Colossians, Paul addresses the
church. A place where kindness and compassion should indeed be present. Yet, he
had to remind the very people who said they loved Jesus to be kind. I imagine
if Paul lived today, he would preach his message in homes,
workplaces, at sporting events, and in public spaces.
In a world where we can be anything, shouldn't we be kind? Considerate?
Thoughtful? And shouldn't those traits be so ingrained we don't have to think
about them. I know sometimes I don't feel kind, I get grumpy like everyone
else, but Jesus calls me to have compassion, so I need to work on that daily.
Jesus loves people. When he walked the earth, he showed
kindness. Even when he rebuked or corrected someone, he did it with love.
Sprinkle kindness like glitter, so it sticks around.
