Start Small – The Kingdom Curriculum XVI (3)

Start Small

The second great commandment

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:36, 37

Ready, Set…Do!

In the life of faith, Jesus over and over explained, it’s the little things that count. We are called to be faithful in a little so that we might be made rulers over much. It doesn’t work the other way around. As we learn to show love for God and for our neighbors in small gestures, daily conversations, regular ways of relating and serving, the Lord will open up more opportunities for more of the same.

Loving our neighbors as ourselves involves concrete actions. Not heroic or Herculean actions, but concrete ones nonetheless. A word of greeting, encouragement, or affirmation. Unsolicited help in a project or task. A listening ear. An email of appreciation, right out of the blue. The more of these little things we do in showing love to our neighbors, the more we pave the way with pebbles of everyday kindness for whatever greater, more demanding works the Lord may call us to take up at some time.

Remember Dorcas: she was not a fiery evangelist, eloquent teacher, or heroic missionary. But she was “full of good works and acts of charity” and you can bet most of those were small and everyday (Acts 9:36). She was especially kind to the widows of Joppa, making tunics and other garments for many of them. These widows would especially miss their dear friend and faithful neighbor. When she died, so greatly were those daily works of loving kindness missed that the disciples sent for Peter to come and do something. God graciously restored her to those who loved her so.

In the same way innumerable opportunities for showing grace, lending a hand, providing encouragement and affirmation, and standing for truth crop up before us along the way, day-in and day-out. If we can train ourselves to “make the most” of these opportunities (Eph. 5:15-17), we may find that the trickles of love that flow from us to our neighbors may begin to make an impression of transforming grace–perhaps even enough to draw out a question about what makes us different from our neighbor (1 Pet 3:15). May the Lord send us out each day to seek our neighbors with acts of everyday kindness and love.

Order your copy of The Law of God and The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.