Two and Three

My Senior Minister and I went to Starbucks to discuss his upcoming sermon series over some delicious dark roast coffee. As we picked up our grande cups of goodness I noticed a Calgary Police Officer and something inside me said, "hey... here's your shot for an act of kindness, go thank him for his service, he puts his life out there to keep the city safe." You see, I admire our essential services people, fire, ems, emt, police, er, utilities personnel, search and rescue, these are not jobs but callings, they don't punch the clock on the button, they take real risks every day and I had always wanted to voice my admiration, only I didn't, until today. 

As my Senior Minister put some cream into his rooibos tea I made my way over to the officer, he was in the middle of working, writing something down when he looked up at me, I mustered up my courage and said, "I want to thank you, thank you for the work you do, the service you give every day, thank you very much," to which he replied, "thanks, that means a lot." I then quietly made my way back and sat down for my meeting.

Three. 

Three is personal but it is a blessing to be a part of a ministry that can make a real tangible difference in someone else's life.

Let me be clear about something, sharing this journey isn't to showcase deeds or to put on some great and gracious face because I'm neither of those two things. I struggle daily with hurts and offences, I battle the temptation to hurt those who hurt me, but sometimes, sometimes the words of Jesus can flower, "a new command I give you, love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another." Emphasis is mine and is needed. I love my wife, so I do things I know will bring her joy, every night I switch the washing machine to the dryer, every morning I empty the dishwasher, I pump her gas - she never has to get out in the cold or rain to pump her gas, I look for ways to bring joy to my wife's life... because I love her. Jesus was nailed to a tree. That's sacrifice, obedience, commitment, that's what this verse is talking about and it's the new command. This is the vision that every single person who claims the Christian faith needs their actions, thoughts, words... everything to flow through this.

As I consider this challenge I find myself looking for ways to show kindness, I approach day-to-day life with a heart of service rather than transactionally seeking to gain the most benefit from the least amount of effort and investment. Regardless of your faith you wouldn't have to stretch to far to consider that mostly our default isn't to love selflessly, it takes work, and much like buying a new printer requires the user to change the default printer to the new hardware, so to our hearts take some programming to change our default to be one which assumes the best in others, gives a thank-you wave, holds a door and let's the person behind us with three items go before us in the checkout line - and that's what this challenge offers you, a new default, a default towards kindness.

I can imagine Warren smiling at his new legacy; his greatest being his incredible family who are witnessing their father's heart beat in hundreds of people around the world.