2Pe 1:7 And to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
Heb 13:1-3 ¶
Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds,
as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves
also in the body.
1. Good will; benevolence; that temper or disposition which
delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised
cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating
their distresses; benignity of nature. Kindness ever accompanies love.
Brotherly kindness is not seen so much in just the everyday,
ho hum Christian life. It takes a determined effort on our part, not because we
don’t want to be kind but because we get caught up in our circle of events
passing by many opportunities to exhibit this great attribute of our Savior. Every now and then I see the marks of true
kindness coming up through our grade school children. Usually it is the child who has been made fun
of, ridiculed or bullied because of some physical flaw or disability. I hate to
see children made fun of and if I get wind of it, I'm in a dead run to stop
it! Children will become quiet, isolate themselves from others, avoid crowds,
not eat and many times apply self-punishment to their bodies to somehow, some
way divert the real pain caused by an unkind person. God help us! If one of us
will do something quickly, we may keep a child from growing up as a rebellious
teen to a bitter adult, all because of unkindness.
Jesus taught us to love our neighbor even to pray for our
enemies, especially those which despitefully use us. He makes it clear how a
Christian should treat others. God’s love in us is perfected; it is complete
and all we need. It will get the job
done, whether in the church with fellow believers or in the world as we come in
contact with people who are not born-again. Just by our kind acts, the heart may
soften causing the ear to bend toward the hearing of the Gospel.
My Uncle George didn’t get saved until later in life. He was
always pulling pranks on people especially family members. He loved a good
tease and often was switched from the premises of Grandma’s house. He just
couldn’t keep the boundaries she set forth and received countless scoldings
while the rest of us laughed uncontrollably at Grandma’s failing efforts to be
firm and mean. I loved Uncle George.
Grandpa sat on the front porch tapping his tobacco on the
tiny paper, ready to roll it into one of his cigarettes. I never smoked, but it
was such an art to me as I remained mesmerized by the perfectness of the
homemade killer. Most men smoked back in
the 40’s and 50’s; therefore, all of my Daddy’s brothers smoked and/or chewed
tobacco. I never thought too much about it until I got saved. We had two spittoons
in our church, but when Brother Joe May came to town, he preached against the
evils of tobacco. My Uncle George was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth caused
by too much tobacco for too long, and was recommended for surgery to remove as
much as possible. The cancer was so bad that the doctors detached his tongue,
completely, and decided he wouldn’t live for more than a few days. Rather than
leaving the tongue out, they slapped it back in his mouth and quickly sewed it enough to lie
still until Uncle George died……they thought! Uncle George DID NOT DIE. He lived
many years after that slipshod surgery. His speech was terrible not only from a
botched up oversized tongue but his left jaw bone was completely removed. With a portion of his face sunken in, he
resembled someone with a bad stroke. I helped my favorite Uncle, taking care of
him as much as time allowed. He was the kindest man on earth! As a teen age
girl I felt privileged to wipe the drool from his mouth, help him out of bed,
and get him to the dining room table for a meal which we had to hand feed him for
a period of time. My Dad made sure that Uncle George kept an income by having him move into our home doing odd jobs. His strength gradually came back and he was off once more as
the Uncle who made everyone laugh but this time, his appearance was different. I can still see his crooked face, bright
dancing eyes and hairy body. Uncle George had so much colored hair on his body that it
actually came through his clothes! I lie not! He looked like an orange monkey
at times. We all loved him dearly.
Brotherly kindness
is a difficult trait but very much needed in our lives if we are going to be
productive in this life of knowing God and being like Him. The unlovely need
our brotherly kindness. Uncle George became a different man having survived
such a horrible surgery, but he reached out to the unpleasant people of our
small town. He would tell everyone about Jesus, His love for them, and spend
hours with people that most of us would never visit. I found myself in the middle
of his captive audiences, listening to his embellished stories of a time past. Brotherly
Kindness.
Uncle George used every faculty he had to retell the
parables of Jesus. He brought us to the feet of Christ on the mount of Olives.
We stood on the shore of the sea while Jesus called to the disciples. Uncle
George became the Mary washing Jesus’ feet. He became Peter denying Christ and
would imitate the sorrow that followed Peter that dreadful night. Uncle George stretched his pitiful tiny arms
out to help us capture the moment of the crucifixion of our Savior. We watched,
we heard, we understood all because of the intense kindness of a man who was
repulsive to look at in man’s eyes, but beautiful in our eyes and our God. The
dirty, unmoved, helpless, poor folks welcomed a story from Uncle George. He
never made anyone feel that they were less than anyone else. They didn’t mind his peculiar appearance and
would push to get close to him to hear his every word. Brotherly Kindness.
Uncle George did one last great deed before he died and I
want to share that with you in Friday’s blog. Charity, the last attribute of II
Peter 1, was exemplified in my Uncle George.
Until next time, Lord willing.
Sharon
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