Cardigans and Kindness

   

     Today is "World Kindness Day". And because Hollywood loves nothing better than a tie-in, they have co-opted this celebration by encouraging people to wear a cardigan, which is posited to be in memory of Mr. Rogers, but is really a promotion of the new bio-pic of his life. 

     Since I am a lover both of cardigans and kindness, I am willing to buy-in and, therefore, I have on a cardigan today. I don't really know that this particular "movement" will gain much traction, because here's the thing: wearing cardigans doesn't make you kind any more than it made Mr. Rogers who he was. And I want to say something else: it won't even be beneficial if it only reminds you to be kind. 

    I am quite certain that there are many who would argue that point with me. "Of course being kind is always beneficial!" "Why don't you want people to be kind?!" "What sort of monster are you?" Here is the thing: there is no goodness apart from Jesus. There is no kindness without Him. That is why I said, "only". Being kind serves no purpose if it isn't based in glorifying God, because apart from that, anything we do is only to serve self.

    I know that it seems that unbelievers do a lot of "good". They feed the poor, they clothe the naked, they visit the imprisoned. And all those things, on a surface level, are "good".

"'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good-except God alone.'" -Mark 10:18 NIV

"'I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.'" John 15:5 NIV

    Those things that we perceive to be good, noble, perhaps even righteousness, are "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) apart from salvation in Jesus Christ. We can do no good thing apart from Him.

     So, as usual, I have taken something rather benign and made it heavy. I've dragged the Bible into something innocent and silly, right? I disagree. I am firmly convinced that every aspect of a believer's life, even the "little" things actually add up to something very important. And I am certain that even pertains to wearing a cardigan.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

    If what I eat or drink is supposed to point other to God, then I think what I wear can, too. And that is why I am wearing a cardigan on World Kindness Day. Because Christ showed the ultimate kindness to me when He gave His life. When I placed my faith in Him I vowed to "do it all for the glory of God". So while others might be wearing a cardigan to draw attention to the latest Tom Hanks' movie, I am reminding myself that kindness is showing sinners the way to salvation, that true goodness only can be found in Christ alone, and that *any* "virtue" apart from Him is worthless.

    So wear a cardigan today, or don't, but whatever you do remember this:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." 1 Colossians 3:12 NIV 1984

   If you put on those things, it won't really matter what else you are wearing, because those suit  everybody and they are not a result of anything we can do apart from Christ. It's a good look for all of us.

   

Silent Night

     It's been quiet here on the blog. Usually that is a good sign that real life is CRAZY. That is definitely the case this year. I have had ideas for about five different posts. As you know if you follow me, I have posted zero. I even have photos taken for a post, but yet, nothing. The time just hasn't been right.

    I've been busy with Christmas stuff, preparing and planning, making and baking, running here, there and everywhere. But you haven't seen it (unless, of course, you're my husband). You have just seen....nothing. You haven't heard anything from me, but that doesn't mean I'm not here.

    And that is what I am thinking about tonight. Dwelling on the FOUR HUNDRED YEARS between the Old Testament and the New Testament. You know, the one or two pages between Malachi and Matthew in your Bible? That was lifetimes-generations coming and going. Waiting. Watching. For a while, at least...

    But waiting is hard. And we lose interest quickly. And days slip into weeks, years into decades. We lose track of time and we give up, forget, move on. But that didn't mean He wasn't there...

    That inter-Testament period? It is known as the silent, or dark, period. Pretty bleak. Quiet is nice at first, but after a while it can drive you crazy. You start talking to yourself, you start hearing voices. You wonder if maybe you are losing it, you wonder if you were confused about what you heard. Weren't promises made? A Savior. What was going on? Four hundred years...

    " The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

   Quiet days turned into silent nights. Promises seemed unfilled, hope felt empty. Memories were short, and soon, for many, thoughts of the Messiah slipped into the oblivion of forgetfulness...

    Until another silent night soon became a holy night. The most Holy of all Nights. The Silence was broken with the most powerful Word ever spoken.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among US..." John 1:14 

    The emphasis is mine, because I can't get over the beauty of ending that phrase with those two little letters that mean me, and you, and everyone. The Word, a clarion call that prayers were answered, promises fulfilled, not just after four hundred years but for all of eternity. At just the right time...

     We don't ever have to live in that uncertainty again. Hope was born, and the Word doesn't just dwell among us, He dwells in us.

"Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16 CSB

     If your night seems silent, I have a hard truth for you: you aren't listening. He is speaking, the silence is broken. He didn't just give us words at Christmas, He gave us THE Word. He spent four hundred years planning, preparing, perfecting. At just the right time, He tore the veil, broke the barrier, and glorious light and sound poured out, from Him to us. Christmas is Him speaking, flooding our ears with the most beautiful Voice ever heard, promising us that this Jesus was indeed, the One:

"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”" Matthew 17:5 NIV

     We don't have to endure the silent treatment anymore, Jesus offered His life to free us to hear. He is speaking, we just have to stop to listen. He is there, He always has been, but now, His plans are apparent, His purpose clear. He fulfills all of His promises, no matter how slow the fulfillment may seem. I encourage you: if it seems like you are suffering through too many silent nights, remember that the Word is already here. We don't have to be wait, He has come.

    That is the beauty of Christmas. The Word that many in those hundreds of dark, quiet years died longing to hear, has come. Just listen: His name is Jesus.

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NIV

No Fear

    What is your greatest fear? Pain? Suffering? Death? Fear always has to do with loss: of a loved one, of your pride, of your reputation, of your health, of your life. But most of all fear has to do with loss of faith.

    Good Friday, which I always want to call, "Black Friday", not because I confuse it with the shopping holiday, but more of a Freudian slip: in my mind, it had to have been the blackest of all days. It was so chock-full of loss it was literally bursting at the seams. The disciples lost their leader, Mary lost her child, and the Father lost His Son.

   And Jesus? He lost everything. His reputation was in tatters, His power seemed to have deserted Him, His followers had fled, He was literally having the life beaten out of Him. Ultimately, He would lose the only thing no human has the power to replace: His life. We all know how the story ends: His Father restores Him to life, but that had yet to be revealed to those wading knee-deep through the most painful loss any of them had ever experienced, or would ever experience.

   And you know what goes hand-in-hand with loss? Fear. Swamping, swallowing, sweeping fear. The kind that opens its gaping maw and gulps you down whole into its acid-filled gut. The ugliest, most consuming kind anyone could imagine because it took every kind of loss and built an invading army out of them-and they were standing powerless, weaponless, before it.

   Who could survive that? Who could come out alive on the other side? Well...the answer is: no one. Not even Jesus went through that alive. But He could conquer it through death. What? It doesn't make sense on the surface. How could death-the most feared loss of them all, ever result in anything good?

    Over and over and over the Lord tells us through His Word, "Do not be afraid." "Do not fear." How is that even possible? In our own strength, it never will be. In our own strength, the best we can hope for is to dilute fear, to manage it, to sometimes cover it up. But we can never be without it.

   So that's why He sent Jesus. Because we could never do it on our own. But Christ beat every fear all hollow! He faced them down, one by one, to show us Who is truly the Victor.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 NIV

He is love. He drove fear out with a crashing whip, and a stunning show of strength. He did not even let the most cumbersome of fears, death, slow Him down.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV

  That doesn't even seem feasible to our feeble humans minds. Death is pretty much the most fear-ridden thing we can conjure. It is the greatest loss we can imagine, or experience. Good thing we serve a God who isn't bound by the constraints of our humanity. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, He tells us over and over, like a Father to forgetful children. "Do not fear..."

   And then with Christ, He showed us how it is done. Through absolute faith and trust. Through perfect love. Fear isn't something to manage, it is something to expel. Black Friday. Good Friday. Our blackest fears turned in the the greatest victory. Our greatest loss equaled our biggest win. He walked through every dark place, and He triumphed. He suffered every type of loss and was victorious. And He didn't do it to prove His worth-there was no need for that. No, He did it for us. He did it to fulfill every promise and to prove to us that His endless chant could become a vibrant reality for those who believe. Good Friday=No fear.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,    they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,    you will not be burned;    the flames will not set you ablaze.     For I am the Lord your God,    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." Isaiah 43:1b-3a NIV

   He doesn't ask us to do anything that He hasn't already done. He showed us the way, and He is the way. Good Friday...the day the door was opened so that we could be free from fear, and free from true loss. This Easter, this Resurrection Sunday, wake to new life-one absolutely, divinely, perfectly free from fear. Don't let it scare you-He has already been there, and He will be with you...

Need further convincing? Every single one of those verse references in the image above is a whisper (or maybe a shout) from your Father who loved you enough to give up His Son for *you*! Don't let your fear keep you from the greatest love ever. He is waiting to take your fears away, today.

P.S. If you would like to make the image above a printable, simply right-click, select save and then print from your saved location. Happy Resurrection Day!