And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40b

The expression is, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

That's not exactly true, but I do remember a boy who was close. I met him while we were waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store. When it came the boy's turn to check out, he discovered an unforeseen problem: he had candy and he had money, but the two didn't match.

Having checked his pockets a last time, the boy looked up at the checkout lady and asked, "How much more do you need?"

"Eight cents," was the reply.

I coughed up the eight cents. If I had given him a million dollars, he couldn't have seemed more grateful, his grin of gratitude any more warm.

The eight cents didn't cost me much; on the contrary, it emptied my pockets of change, got the boy a candy bar, and gave me a memory that has lasted a good many years. It was a small kindness.

We, who have been saved by the Christ's sacrifice, who have been recipients of the forgiveness and salvation that cost Him His life, need to be aware of these small kindnesses -- opportunities the Lord sends our way.

Each of these is an occasion to touch the life of someone else with the joy that naturally springs from the heart of someone who knows Jesus. Each of these is a chance to reflect the love we have received and distribute it to those who have a need.

And, lest we forget, the Holy Spirit has a way of turning these little opportunities into a chance to share the Savior.

So, Daily Devotion readers, let's share the Savior in the little opportunities.


From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"



THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, my life is filled with small, fleeting windows of opportunity where I can be kind to others. Help me be aware; show me how to respond, so the light of my Savior may illuminate the dark moments of others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Many people share e-mails with groups of people. Some are humorous; some are newsy. If you are a person who has forwarded things in the past, why not forward a Daily Devotion? Let the receiver know that they, too, can receive them by signing up at: http://www.lhm.org/email/register.asp. Remember, it doesn't cost a thing.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Numbers 31-33    Luke 1:39-56

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"