Dec 1, 2020 | Care Conversations
Now What?
How do we help ourselves, and our young people, to navigate the happenings in our world and our communities?
We start by being communities who are Bible readers, who therefore understand our common tendency towards wrong thoughts and actions that are tainted by sin, but who also see great hope that Christ has brought to our lives. He is changing the way that we see Him, see situations and see people.
We continue by being prayerful communities, who bear one another’s burdens and rejoice with one another’s joys.
We encourage the understanding that just as the Triune God is transforming us, He is also transforming others. Our hearts are being changed. We are called to view others as God sees them, not as we judge them to be.
Let us view the world and its people, with hope. A strong belief that God is working out His purposes.
Let us flood the world with kindness. Let us use our freedom to glorify God and bless others.
Let us rejoice in the goodness of God and walk in ways that are reflective of His love, grace and kindness.
Let us feel, and understand, the grief that many people suffer. Let us lament together.
Let us understand that, throughout the world, whilst we may see sadness and injustice, many people EXPERIENCE and FEEL sadness and injustice on a daily basis.
Let us seek to treat all people as image bearers of God. It starts in our homes and our classrooms. Let us provide special care for those who are marginalised, oppressed and mistreated. Let us be generous to all.
Let us make sure that our school communities are not simply good for our students and their families, but they are also good for the community, nation and the world.
In our educational communities let us seek to understand who God is. Let us seek to understand one another. Let us treat the stranger with grace and goodness. Let us learn to serve with a grateful heart and an eternal hope.
Dec 1, 2020 | Wens Pen
Hello Everyone
Extend the kindness of Jesus. One of the greatest expressions of the kindness of Jesus was His intentional entry into the story of a broken humanity. This story of kindness is unique because the very ones to whom Jesus extended kindness, had rejected Him and rebuffed His love. Yet Jesus looked past the undeserving and saw through to the plight of human lostness. To frame His act of kindness we must somehow get our minds around the magnitude of this immense, all-powerful, transcendent, holy, perfect God, who was propelled by love and kindness to redeem a hopeless humanity. So, Jesus took on the nature of humanity, whilst being fully God and entered into a world that was incapable of being liberated without the One who had the right to enact salvation. This is immense and it really counts for every person, as we have been unhinged from our creator since the fall. This act of kindness is the greatest hope that humanity has ever been granted. Imagine if Jesus was not kind. Life would be heading in the direction of despair and ultimate destruction. But this act of kindness on the part of Jesus totally changes the outcome. We are now the recipients of His benevolent love and kindness and we are saved. Kindness is a defining part of our journey and it is now on us to extend the kindness of Jesus to others, because kindness moves others towards healing and restoration. It fans the flame of hope and helps to raise others out of the ashes. Kindness changes the atmosphere no matter what the circumstances are. Unsolicited kindness points people to Jesus.
As we enter the story of Jesus and look around the Judean scene of the first century AD, we will see a plethora of characters who were all in deep need of love, redemption and kindness. One of the striking characteristics of Jesus is His kindness. Jesus showed kindness to every suffering, marginalised, unlovable, dirty, sick, rejected, degraded person He encountered. Every single person was changed as a result of His kindness.
Think about the impact of kindness in your life. What has an act of kindness meant to you and how has it changed your circumstances? Last week, our family suffered a trauma on so many levels. Yet what made the difference was kindness. It enabled us to function. The kindness of Jesus was touching our hearts every single moment. Everyone of us who have received kindness knows the immeasurable impact and value of this Christ-like characteristic. And so, we are called to extend the kindness of Jesus at all times. When the recipients don’t deserve it; when the person appears unlovable; when we are too tired to do it; when pride gets in our way, extend the kindness of Jesus anyway. It’s not always easy, but it is the Jesus way.
So, friends, get your “Jesus kindness” on today.
Best days to come,
Wen
For more Thoughts of the Week click here
