Sharing kindness is a wonderful way to spread God’s love! His greatest gift of love to us was sending His own Son to earth to create a new and lasting relationship with Him. We can spread this love in random acts of kindness like those suggested below. I’ve divided the list into four categories.
1. Share the Good News – What can we give Jesus on His birthday? We can pass on the “good news” of God’s kingdom in our hearts. That is the reason Jesus came to earth.1 Interestingly, the word for “good news” is euangelizo (hence our word “evangelize”). It combines eu (good) with angello (proclaim, tell). The angel proclaimed good news to the shepherds. So how can we share God’s good news? One way is to spread the true meaning of Christmas in the cards we send, our outdoor decorations, and stories that we read to others. (See my list below for more ideas.)
2. Give the Gift of Prayer – There are many people we can’t physically help, either because they are far away from us (Ukraine, the homeless, etc.) or lost in their private struggles (addictions, depression, chronic pain). Prayer helps put into motion the powerful healing hand of God. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.” 2 So now He’s asked us to continue that mission. Just asking someone, “How can I pray for you?” shows you care.
3. Give the Gift of Encouragement – Sometimes heartfelt complements or just listening to someone means more to them than any gift you could buy. How about telling someone why you think they’re amazing, or how you appreciate their continuing hard work behind the scenes! You could text a meaningful Scripture verse or help a depressed person to see the good things in their life.
4. Give the Gift of Kindness –A cheerful deed is a great way to lift spirits. You can bake cookies, let someone in line ahead of you, or donate clothing. Or leave a note, give a hug, do a chore, hold the door. Decide to replace complaining with kind words. You’ll feel better too!
For lots more ideas, check out the “Random Acts of Christmas” calendar and chart below. Page 1 is the calendar with a suggestion for each day. Scroll down to Page 2 with the same suggestions listed by the four categories described above. Feel free to mix the order and add in your own spontaneous Random Acts of Christmas.
May your heart be filled with true Christmas JOY!
1 Luke 4:43; 2 Luke 4:18,19
