Always Be Kind
“You will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love. Be kind.” ~ Unknown
There is something that any saint masters that the typical person cannot seem to comprehend. The saint masters the ability to see past a person’s physical attributes and temperament and to gaze directly into the soul of another. Mother Teresa of Calcutta never saw beggars lying in the street gutters waiting to die. She never saw homeless people starving. No. In each and every one of the people she encountered, she saw Jesus. Because she saw Jesus, she reached out to Him, ministering to Him, giving Him a place to dwell, and caring for Him.
We, on the other hand, are most often distracted by the physical presentation of others. We talk about how someone is dressed so shabbily or how someone is dirty and smells. We talk about how someone looks untrustworthy. We gauge our thoughts by outward appearances without attempting to gaze within and see the presence of God.
God loves the rich and well-dressed person. God loves the poor and scantily-clad person. God loves the gregarious person. God loves the shy and retiring person. As a matter of fact, “you will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love.” The job of any Christian is to see others the way God sees them and to respond to others the way God would respond to them.
If we see someone in need, we should not shy away in revulsion. Reaching out to that person might be just the thing that brings us into closer union with the Lord. St. Francis of Assisi experienced that for himself. Francis could not stand the sight of lepers. He feared them just as most did in his day. Yet, Francis knew that he would not be able to draw closer to God until he ridded himself of his revulsion for lepers. He needed to see the soul in the leper. This realization drove him to embrace a leper. The moment he did, an overwhelming sense of peace came over Francis.
When we are kind to one another, we bring Christ to others. When we are kind to those we would rather ignore, we bring Christ to ourselves.
FAITH ACTION: Make sure that the words you choose to say and the actions you choose to do today show kindness to others.