Every little kindness is God lighting our way
It’s the little things that count. A touch, a smile, a simple thank you or letting a car in ahead of you. It doesn’t take much to make a difference for good, to leave a warm glow in someone else’s day. Little things.
If Christmas was only about religion it would have long disappeared. If Christmas was only about heavenly things it would have been overwhelmed by the more obvious and immediate commercial world.
But Christmas is about littleness, causing some to conclude that Christmas is mainly for children. But its littleness is far too big for that.
Christmas appeals to the child within each of us, yearning for comfort and acceptance; to be wanted and loved for ourselves.
There is a child born for us. The simplicity of this statement carries everything that makes Christmas so special. For Christians, the child is God’s Christmas gift to a world greatly loved. If this is how God comes into our lives, then we have nothing to fear and everything to live for.
Who is not in awe of new life? Its littleness helps me believe in tomorrow, softening the disappointments of today and the regrets of yesterday.
A little child can bring people together, dispel sadness and reconcile differences. Helplessness and beauty combine and in their presence we forget ourselves for the hope that has come among us.
Christmas doesn’t call you to immediately believe but simply to respond, to allow yourself to recognise the baby at the heart of Christmas as you would any newly born – small, dependent, vulnerable, yet a perfect image of hope, the first cousin of faith.
Faith, another little thing, is like a star, twinkling, shining in between clouds and other things that darken its light and can even cause it to doubt itself. It gives enough light to help me keep moving, a step at a time.
Faith is also like a little baby. A baby doesn’t know everything and neither does faith. A baby can’t explain what it needs or where it’s hurting; neither can faith. But a baby can feel love; it can feel protection; a baby can sense that it’s special. And if those things continue to be its diet – love, protection, specialness – the baby grows to be a loving person.
Faith grows in the same way. Faith is God’s way of guiding us gently.
It’s just a little light, or a little child – and in any family what’s more important than the little ones?
The star and the baby come together with the Christian celebration Christmas. This season is a blessing time for everyone, regardless of whether or not you believe.
However little, or even non-existent, your faith, the message is simply this: God is not ‘‘out there’’ or ‘‘up there’’. God is with us.
And every little touch, smile or kind gesture is God working through us to heal, unite, bless and light our way.