Tenderhearted part 4
A little bit of kindness goes a long way. Which, on the one hand, is kind of sad. Because we are so used to the opposite that it's like we're starving for it. Desperate for it. But, on the other hand, it means we can really affect each other on a deep level by simply being kind. By doing things heartily--to the best of our ability, and because it's in our heart to do it. We don't have to be world changers and history makers. We can live simple lives and still preach the gospel with our actions. We can be who we are and still spread the love of God. That's why I write these Rants every day--I want to do what I can do, even if it seems like a small thing. And if what I do helps someone... then I AM a world changer. Because while I may not have changed everything in the world... I may have changed something in YOUR world. And that matters. That's important. Because YOU matter. YOU'RE important. So, as it is written in Zechariah 4:10, "For who hath despised the day of small things?..." Or Job 8:7, "Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase." Just start where you are. The past is the past and it's over and you can't do anything about it. Let go of it. Stop letting it hold you back. Let God and let God. Start where you are and do what you can do. Don't let your past harden your heart. Don't let what has come before dictate what comes next. Learn and grow. Take the lesson and the blessin' and keep moving forward. There is a straight and narrow way that leads to life. That is Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He is love. Love is the only way to live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing! You can't do one without the other and you can't have one without the other. So embrace love. Guard your heart by keeping it open to love. Let God love you--whether you feel like you deserve it or not--and love Him back by loving people with that same love. Receive it and release it. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Don't let the world make you hard-hearted. Strive to stay tenderhearted. Don't let the world beat you down into it's image. In the beginning you were created in the image and likeness of God. On the cross you were conformed to the image of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. You have what you need, and you are who you're supposed to be. So give what you've got and be who you are! Let what's inside come out. Naturally. By knowing and believing that it's in there. By letting God love you and loving Him back by loving the people you come into contact with. It doesn't have to be big things either. That's my point. Sometimes all it takes is a smile. An ear to hear when someone needs to talk. A shoulder to cry on, or lean on. Just those little things (that are really big things) that let people know you care about them. Those little things that mean the world to people. You don't have to be someone you're not. You don't have to do things you're not called to do, or capable of doing. You can just be who you are. You can just love people. It comes from the heart. From the tenderheart that is GOD'S heart beating with love in your chest!