Real Hope: Suffering & TrialsSample

KINDNESS IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULTY

The whole earth has experienced a common trauma caused by a non-human entity, the coronavirus (COVID-19). World news has focused on the suffering and trials caused by the crisis and, at every turn, there have been reminders that we are in the midst of an unprecedented event.

Paul, one of the writers in the Bible, understood that suffering and trials shape us. How they shape us depends on where we focus our attention. We can either focus fully on the details of the current suffering and be shaped by that grief alone, or we can choose to focus on Jesus who is remembered by the shape of His suffering, who poured out love and produced hope. 

All of us can find ourselves grieved and anxious, overwhelmed, and tired. It is good on those days to remember that we can reach out and ask others to gift us with compassion and kindness. As people of faith, we also know that we have the resources of a loving God who in the midst of our own heartache will help us to think beyond ourselves to be shaped by the love and compassion of Jesus. We might just find that, as we receive and give kindness, we are partnering in God’s desire to reshape the world. Perhaps, generations from now will tell how many small acts of kindness rebuilt communities who shared a common hardship into resilient, generous, equitable cultures of peace.

written by KATH HENRY