Some time ago there was a movie called Evan Almighty that has a message that I think every follower of Christ should examine. In this movie, Evan wants to make a difference. I won’t tell you everything that happens in case you haven’t seen the movie, but the gist is that God appears to Evan and turns his world upside down with a mission: to build an ark. In the process, Evan says he doesn’t know where to start. God tells Evan that he hears that a lot and then asks Evan if he wants to know where to start. God tells you to start with one random act of kindness at a time.
What a concept! You would think this would come naturally to followers of Christ. But sadly, that is not the perception of the majority of “not yet believers.” I recently played a video during one of my posts that featured a ‘man on the street’ segment. In this video, people were asked what they thought when they heard the word Christian and Jesus. Almost everyone had very favorable things to say about Jesus, but when it came to Christians it was totally different.
Christians were seen as critical, cruel, unloving, and rude.
That is very sad when you think about it. The word Christian arose because people acted like Christ.
Well, I believe that we, as followers of Christ, are called to change this image of the Church. We should make it easier for those “not yet believers” to come to faith, not harder. I’m not talking about changing the message of faith, but about the way we followers of Christ live our lives.
What would happen if we followed God’s advice in Evan Almighty? What if we were serious about committing a random act of kindness every day, if we really began to live like God’s people and not like self-righteous Pharisees who despise people? Well, I’ll tell you what would happen. Our city would begin to see changes. Paul said that it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.
Where do you and I start? With a random act of kindness. Why not buy the coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks or Barnes and Noble and let them know that God loves them? Why not help the single mom who is doing her best but still needs help with the kids or needs her oil changed? What about the person who can no longer take care of their lawn? The list goes on and on.
They may not look like spiritual things, but they are actually spiritual. You see, little things done with great love change the world.
If you want to read more about this kind of lifestyle, my friend Steve Sjogren has written a great book called Conspiracy of Kindness.
No Comment