Category: Matthew

  • The ripple effect of a simple act of love

    Faith in action

    The ripple effect -Concentric ripples spreading across a clear, shallow stream over smooth brown and gray pebbles, with green trees and sky reflected on the water.

    I love to throw stones into water. When I’m sitting beside a body of water, I enjoy tossing a rock in and watching the ripples spread. Sometimes I toss in one rock and then another nearby so I can see how the ripples change when they intersect. It’s fascinating to see how far the effects of a simple action can travel.

    We never know who or where our Christian faith walk and testimony will reach. It could reach people we’ve never met through the ripple effect. I’m reminded of an old shampoo commercial that said, “We told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.”

    A smile. A kind word. An act of forgiveness and love can reach people you might never encounter. That’s why Jesus compared the kingdom to a mustard seed.

    He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:31-33 ESV

    The grain of mustard or a single yeast cell can multiply in ways far beyond what we can imagine. The ripple effect travels farther than we might know and intersects or rebounds in ways we don’t anticipate.

    It’s why we are called to love one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s why the Bible calls us to treat strangers with hospitality. The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

    It’s a simple truth that we don’t often consider.

    Let’s walk together in obedience, love and compassion. When we do, God is glorified in ways that transcend our simple steps.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Like a ripple on the water, a small act of love can reach people we may never meet. When we walk together in obedience, love and compassion, God is glorified in ways that transcend our small steps.

    TAKEAWAY

    A smile, a kind word, or an act of forgiveness and love can ripple out to people we might never meet.

    We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves and treat strangers with hospitality. 

    The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

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  • Ruth, Rahab and the faithfulness of God

    Yesterday’s aquafit class was independent, which means we had no instructor. Those mornings are a combination workout/social time. Everyone works out and stays moving, but the pace is much slower, and we visit more. 

    As I visited people around the pool, I was reminded of how diverse our class is, background-wise.  The group is about 60% Caucasian and 40% South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern and African. Some are Christians. Some are not. Even the Christian group is diverse in denominational affiliation, theology and the circumstances of when and how they became believers.

    As I pondered that fact, my mind wandered back to an account in the Old Testament. You’re all likely familiar with the story of Ruth, the Moabite woman who married into an Israelite family. It’s worth rereading; it’s only four chapters.

    Ruth’s father-in-law and husband die, and her mother-in-law Naomi, unable to care for her, tells her to go back to her own people. Instead, she chooses to stay, look after her mother-in-law, and worship the God of Israel. In a remarkable redemption story, a relative marries her, and she eventually becomes part of the lineage of Jesus.

    That whole story is astounding. We see her faithfulness and God’s faithfulness. A non-Jew in the line that produced Jesus reminds us of God’s faithfulness to all people.

    What you might not remember is that Boaz was in the line of Rahab the prostitute from Jericho. We find that tidbit in the genealogy of Jesus listed in Matthew’s gospel.

    …and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah… Matthew 1:5-6 ESV

    Jesus’ earthly family came from a line that included a woman who was a Moabite, a hated tribe of people of mixed heritage, Israelite and non-Israelite. The husband was a descendant of a non-Israelite prostitute.

    Both Boaz and Ruth were believers even though non-Israelite in heritage. The Lord calls people of all cultures, backgrounds and skin tones to come to Him. In that way, it’s a totally inclusive faith.

    God knows where you come from and what you have done and still wants to redeem you. His people sometimes forget that. Jonah gets angry at God for saving the people of Nineveh. Saul of Tarsus persecuted, killed and imprisoned Christians before becoming a believer, operating under the understanding that he was doing God’s work.  We know from stories or by experience that the people of the church can be as bigoted and unforgiving as non-believers at times.

    Don’t look at the people of the church; look to Jesus to see how inclusive we are to be. Any person in that pool could open their heart to Him. No one is beyond the redemptive power of the Lord.

    Praise His name.

    Kevin

     SUMMARY

    As I pondered how diverse my aquafit class is, my mind wandered back to Ruth, a Moabite woman in the family line of Jesus. Her story reminds me that no one is beyond the redemptive power of the Lord.

    TAKEAWAY

    God knows where you come from and what you have done, and He still wants to redeem you.

    Ruth the Moabite and Rahab of Jericho are both in the line of Jesus. The Lord calls people of all cultures, backgrounds and skin tones to come to Him, and that includes you.

    God’s people can be as bigoted and unforgiving as non-believers, like Jonah angry over Nineveh. Don’t look at them; look to Jesus to see how inclusive you are to be.

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