Secrets of the Abundant Life – Kindness

Matthew 8: 1-3 (NIV): When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

There is a direct correlation between living the abundant life and how we treat each other. Don't miss what Jesus did in this story: he touched a man with leprosy. In that culture, you simply did not do this. They knew leprosy was contagious, but they had no cure or treatment for it. A person who contracted leprosy was sent to a leper colony where he could never touch or even get close to his loved ones again. It was a terrible and sad fate. The man in this story needed human contact. He needed to be touched and Jesus gave him not only compassion, but healing as well. Jesus knew that ministering to people would at times make him unclean. It's a messy business, but that's what kindness is all about: sacrifice.
Being kind to each other means we sacrifice our own agenda – and perhaps even safety – to give others what they need. That is what Jesus did and that's what we are called to do. Kindness means we forgive one another, we show mercy, speak softly, encourage each other, and treat others as we want to be treated. Jesus said since we have been forgiven of a debt we cannot pay, we must forgive others as well. This may well be the first step toward being kind to one another.
There is no room in the abundant life for being mean, selfish or narcissistic, being a bully or an abuser. None of these traits take us toward the abundant life. Being a person like Jesus is the key. He was forgiving, merciful, kind, and he put others' needs ahead of his own. That's the secret: to live our lives selflessly, seeking to please and minister to others. There is no higher calling for us than to be an answer to someone else's prayer. When we live our lives this way, we not only make life better for those around us, but we are on our way to experiencing the abundant life ourselves.