I Am Clothed in Compassion
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
It had been a hard week. Rent was due, and she had no idea whether she’d make it or have to ask the landlord for an extension. Again. Her cupboard was down to Ramen noodles, two eggs, white rice, and a can of black beans, and while she still had gas in her tank, it wouldn’t be long until she ran out.
Despair circled her like a cloak. Would it always be this way? Why did everything feel like such an uphill climb and she was walking against the wind?
Then, in line at the post office, the lady in front of her waves her ahead, winking kindly. “You go first, sweetheart. I’m in no rush.”
Trying to turn left in traffic, first one car stops for her and then another, letting her pass instead of having to wrestle her way through the throng.
Walking into her office building, a man holds the door for her, and in the elevator, an older woman puts her cell phone away and looks her in the eye.
“Good morning! Beautiful day, isn’t it?” the woman says to her with a smile—the sort of smile that says: I see you. You matter. You are a child of God.
With that, her mood has lifted. Her circumstances haven’t changed, but a kernel of hope, comfort, and perseverance has taken hold of her heart. A fresh wind begins to blow.
And that day, driving home from work, she finds herself doing much the same: letting someone go ahead of her in traffic. Smiling at a stranger. Saying hi to the little kid on the stairwell.
Scripture tells us to clothe ourselves with kindness and compassion and to display God’s love in all we do. These small acts of kindness cost nothing, yet have the power to bring great love, support, and encouragement to those around us.
You never know what your small act of kindness can mean to someone else—or how you can draw them to Jesus.
Jessica Brodie is an award-winning journalist and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministry team. She’s also an author who currently serves as the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. She is the author of More Like Jesus: A Devotional Journey (2018) and editor of Stories of Racial Awakening: Narratives on Changed Hearts and Lives of South Carolina United Methodists (2018), both from her newspaper’s Advocate Press. She also writes contemporary women’s fiction, represented by Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her novel The Memory Garden won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ 2018 Genesis Contest. She has a faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com.
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Originally published Monday, 13 January 2020.
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