Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
October
16, 2011
Kindness may be the finest gift we can
offer others
Most of us love
special days – like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Valentine’s Day
and so on. We like some of them so much we have made them national holidays,
and that list is probably too long.
Now that I am as old as dirt I rather like
the idea of observing Grandparents Day. I believe a Sunday in September has
been so designated but recognition of that day has not caught on yet. Young folks, who are in most of society’s
driver’s seats, ignore that day.
Another day that has not attracted much
attention is a Sunday in October called Clergy Appreciation Day. I guess it was
started by a preacher who thought clergy should be singled out for praise one
Lord’s Day a year.
Some churches and most church members ignore
the observance. As a pastor I have never felt comfortable reminding my flock
that they should honor me. After all there is that admonition in the Bible that
says, “Let another
man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips”
(Proverbs 27:2). To ignore that counsel is to shoot your own foot.
Recently a few people did express appreciation for my pastoral
work. I was grateful for their kind words which came mostly by email. One close
friend went beyond the call of duty and sent me a card which touched me deeply.
The card contained a brief statement by Roy Lessin titled “The
Servant’s Reward.” I guess it meant more to me just now because I do think of
myself as a servant of Jesus. Many years ago I embraced the concept of “servant
of Jesus Christ” as my true identity. To constantly remind myself of my
identity I have written the letters “sjc” after my name.
Roy’s
words on the card may have had more than the usual impact upon my heart because
I realize that the time is nearing when heaven will be
my new home. I think more about heaven now than in previous years. Will it be
like I have imagined? Will I be greeted with the words of my Lord, “Well done,
good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!” If that
happens, then I could tell the beer boys, “It doesn’t get any better than
this!”
Many
people other than preachers live as servants of the Lord. If you think of
yourself as one of his servants, you may also be touched by Roy’s words:
“One day, when you are in heaven, someone will
come up to you and thank you for the way you touched their life with hope and
encouragement. The person’s words will take you by surprise. Soon another
person will seek you out, and then another, and another.
“As you listen to each one’s story, you will
begin to discover all the ways that God used your life when you were completely
unaware of it. You will find that it was not only through the big things you
did, but also through the small things—through a spoken word that was not
planned, a spontaneous act of kindness, a loving attitude, or a simple prayer
of concern.
“To your joy, you will discover that in all these
ways and more, God used you to deposit an eternal measure of His love into many
needy hearts.”
Inside
the card, above my friend’s signature, were these words: “God is using you in more ways than you can ever imagine, and you are
appreciated so much.”
My
friend’s kind expression of appreciation with this card made my day. It got me
to thinking. We spend our days doing many things, some of which were not worth
doing in the first place. Perhaps, in the long run, acts of kindness could be
the most important work we ever do. I know kindness has made a powerful
difference in my life. I think I will need to spend my first thousand years in
heaven thanking all the people who offered me kindness during my earthly journey.
There are so many I have been too busy to thank.
Is it
possible that kindness could be the finest gift we could offer to others? If
so, we shall be wise to get busy being kind to the people around us. If Roy is
right, it will make a difference here and in eternity. + + +