Shaped By Jesus

I had to repost a bit that Chaplain Mike did over at Internetmonk, on being Jesus-shaped:

It’s the pastor of the small church who visits the sick, the sorrowing, and the shut-ins. It’s the housewife who takes soup to her elderly neighbor. It’s the carpenter, plumber, and painter, who take their work seriously and pursue excellence in their crafts. It’s the single woman who reads stories to kids at the library. It’s the grandmother who prays for her family every day. It’s the husband and wife who are struggling in their marriage, but who decide to stick it out. It’s the nurse who does the little things to make her patient feel cared for. It’s the employer who pays fair wages and cares about those who work for him. It’s the worker who refuses to cut corners. It’s the funeral home director who leaves a flower on the bed after removing a loved one’s body from the home. It’s making an anonymous gift to a friend who’s out of work.

It’s extending cup of cold water, speaking a kind word, knowing when to keep quiet, dropping by to say hi to a lonely friend, writing an encouragement note, sitting with grieving parents, saying, “I’m sorry,” asking forgiveness, and looking the other way when you are wronged. It’s the Samaritan stopping, the widow dropping her last penny in the box.

This is not rocket science. There is no spiritual technology to be mastered. No degrees are required. This is all about love, kindness, generosity, sensitivity, honesty, diligence, and unselfishness, all practiced right out there in the real stuff of daily life. It’s about good works done from a heart of love for the glory of God for my fellow human beings. It’s about watching Jesus at work, and allowing him, by his Word and Spirit, to work through us.