 -Mike Miles- Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.” Luke 6:35-38 (CEB)  When I think about kindness, I think about Doris. Doris is an elderly woman at my church where I previously ministered in Iowa. She has a smile about her that brightens any day. For me, she is the embodiment of kindness because of how much she does for others without ever asking for anything in return. She has been retired for decades now, but continually keeps busy serving the people of her community. Though health problems have limited her recently, she still devotes countless hours visiting people in the hospital, holding Bible studies in various nursing homes, and working with children through the local 4-H program. Here’s what strikes me about Doris: she often serves people who can offer nothing back. Some literally have nothing. Others don’t realize what she’s doing because she does them in secret. Some aren’t grateful even if they do know. Doris gets nothing out of all of the time, energy, and work she puts into the week…and yet, she continues on relentless. Why? Because Doris is kind. Doris is a child of God. In the passage above, Jesus talks to his disciples about what it means to be children of the Most High: love your enemies; do good; lend expecting nothing in return; be compassionate. These are all things that God does for all people unconditionally, regardless of who they are. “God is kind to ungrateful and wicked people.” What a thought! As bearers of the divine image who have been made in His likeness, this is how we too should be. As people who are followers of Christ, we are called to imitate the life of Christ, including his kindness. The standard for our behavior is in the character of God himself. Not only do we experience God’s kindness, but we demonstrate it to the world. Kindness is found in the heart and attitude of Christ. As Paul writes in Philippians 2:3, “Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves.” The “others” he speaks us are not only those whom we get along with and whom we call friends. Consider even your enemies as better than yourself. When we look to the interests of others instead of our own, we find the power within us to be kind even to those who do not deserve it. In these kind acts, it is not about what we are to receive or “get back” from doing them. It is about the act itself and the good that it does in this world. In a world that is so often focused on the “bottom line” and investments and returns, practice the kindness that expects nothing back. To paraphrase Jesus elsewhere, let the kindness of God be reflected in your life, so that when others see your good deeds, they will glorify your Father in heaven. - - - Father, we praise you for your kindness. You have demonstrated to us your goodness, even when we were still sinners. May your Spirit be at work in us to demonstrate kindness to others in a godly, unconditional way. Amen.  Mike Miles is the student and family minister at the Livonia Church of Christ in the western suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He attended Abilene Christian University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry in 2009. Mike is currently working on his Master of Religious Education in Missional Leadership at Rochester College in Rochester, Michigan.
Mike has a love for community and for bringing people together, especially across society's dividing lines. Born in the Philippines, he has since lived in over twenty different places but happily calls Michigan "home." He is unashamedly nerdy. He has tried to maintain a blog for years, but has decided that he is just too lazy. He is married to Blythe and has a son, with a baby girl on her way in early 2017! |
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