New Year’s resolutions!
It’s what we talk about every year in the hazy, sugar-filled space between Christmas Day and the 31st! We get excited about the thoughts of improving ourselves in the upcoming year and oftentimes that comes with lofty goals that may be forgotten by mid-January.
As Christians, many times our goals involve growing closer to God in the coming year. I know I have made that resolution before, and it’s a good one to follow through with! Normally, those goals for walking closer with Jesus is spending more time in His word or ramping up our prayer life. And those are AMAZING things to do. But I want to suggest something else to add to your resolutions that will draw you closer to walking with Jesus because you will be walking LIKE Him!
Show Kindness/Love!
At first glance, the statement above sounds easy, but kindness isn’t always simple and there are variations of it. From random acts kindness to complex showing of love to someone who is difficult to deal with, it’s not always easy to walk as Jesus when it comes to loving others.
As you are reading this, I pray God brings someone to your mind that you may need to show kindness to. Is it a neighbor? A friend who having a hard time? A person who needs a mentor? A non-profit that needs volunteers? There are opportunities to show love all around us. Look for ways to be kind and make a plan to carry it out.
I encourage you, as we go into 2025, to dedicate yourself to simple acts of kindness that show God’s love for His people. Being the hands and feet of Jesus not only helps the world see the love of Christ, but it also helps us begin to see people through God’s eyes. And to walk more like Jesus will draw us closer to Him in ways we may not have experienced. This charge may not always seem easy. It requires patience, time, determination, and consistency. But it will be worth it! Imagine the ripples of love that can happen in our community from one act of kindness. Now imagine if we all were doing them. How would that change our world around us?
Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
To follow this command is to walk like Jesus. This is one of my New Year’s resolutions, and I pray it will become yours as well!
