Acts 10:38 tells us that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil (NIV). I live every day with deep gratitude to Jesus. He died for me and forgave all my sins; He rose from the dead so I could experience a fresh start and live a new life (Romans 6:4). I say this from the bottom of my heart: each day is a new adventure with Him in my life! And this is the kind of life Jesus offers anyone who comes to Him.
Galatians 6:9-10 says to everyday followers of Jesus, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.
In Greenwich, New York, a small town of 1,800, a man decided one day to do one small thing to reach out to people. It ended up changing the lives of many.
For the third summer in a row, Lorenzo Ross had returned to this town in the employ of a company hired to lay new gas pipes through the town. He was a flagman who, for 12 to 15 hours a day, directed people through the work zone. One day, he said, “I just had an idea. I'm standing there. I have to have something pleasant to think about. Why don't I just wave at everybody who goes by?”
And he did: at drivers, pedestrians, skateboarders, everyone.
At first nobody responded. The second day, a few hands fluttered in little waves. By the third day, some were waving at Lorenzo before he waved at them! From there it grew!
He chuckled with glee as he told the story. People would drive out of their way just to get a wave from the worker. One day the girls' field hockey team went by in a school bus, and put their hands out for high-fives from Lorenzo. When they won, they attributed it to him, and after that, the bus always had to pass by Lorenzo for high-fives on their way to games. They went all the way to the state championship game and they believed it was Lorenzo who helped them!
One woman, with a handicapped child strapped in the back seat, had tears rolling down her cheeks as she thanked Lorenzo for the effect he had on her child. The mother explained to him that her child had been born disabled and had never developed the ability to focus on people's faces.
“One day, we were waiting for you to move cars along and I noticed she was watching you,” the mother said. “Soon after, I noticed she was starting to focus on my face and on other people's faces, too. Thank you, Lorenzo. You helped her.”
Another woman, distraught by the pain of living, was on her way home, with a plan to end her life, when Lorenzo raised his hand to stop her vehicle. The woman was distracted from ruminating about her 'hopeless' and 'empty' life by the big bear of a man leaping about, smiling and gesturing warmly to everyone. Here was a man who was standing in the hot sun all day and yet he had found a way to get into their hearts. For the first time, the woman saw that life is about what we give, not what we get. She went home and made a decision to get out of her own problems and into helping others.
The town made Lorenzo Ross an honorary citizen, in recognition of the difference he had made in so many lives (Pgs. 88-90 of Happy Stories: Real Life Inspirational Stories From Around the World that Will Raise Your Happiness Level, by Will Bowen, 2013).
As I was driving by one day, a teen from our youth group waved at me from the street and called out a greeting. That meant a lot. That made my day!
Jesus talked about how important even a cup of cold water can be, when it's given in the right spirit, and He said it will never be forgotten not even in Heaven (Matthew 10:42).
In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus pointed out that the gift from a certain woman, worth less than a cent in our currency, was actually worth more in God's eyes than all the rich gifts given that day. It's because Jesus saw the generosity with which she gave whatever she had.
It makes me think of how valuable to me are the homemade cards some little friends gave me when my brother died.
With these things in mind, I say this prayer: Lord, I will do one small thing for someone today ... then another small thing... and another…and another!
