How unsuitable it is for us, who live only by kindness, to be unkind!

have you ever had a moment when you’ve been reading when you’re so struck by a sentence or paragraph that you just can’t read anymore and feel driven to put your book down and meditate on that sentence or paragraph? that happened to me tonight as i read these words from Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Much in Deeds of Charity.”

this sentence struck me because it’s so true. how ridiculous it is for us who live only by the sheer kindness of our Creator, who sustains us day after day, to be unkind or uncharitable to those who are just as much the image of God, and just as much sustained by Him, as we are. i think this sentence struck me so much because of the time of year it is. at a time when we should all be the most joyful, preparing to celebrate the birth of our Savior and the great hope that came into the world because of that birth, there’s probably no other time of year in which people are more unkind, more uncharitable, more everything bad. just watching the news or going to any kind of store is enough to support the claim. people fighting over parking spots, people being incredibly impatient with understaffed retail stores, people being beaten up or even killed over a popular toy — it’s madness.

so perhaps there is no better time of year to pay attention to these words of Edwards’, and no better time of year to put a little more effort in to loving our neighbors as ourselves.