Minute Meditations

”I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow-being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” Penn

Today is the day to do it. How often have we meant to send a card to someone sick and put it off until we heard they had died’? The opportune time to do good is now. Samuel Johnson said, ”He who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything.” A cup of cold water isn’t much, yet Jesus said ”Verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

The time to do a good deed is now. Don’t wait for the spectacular. It is the everyday little acts of kindness that please God. Jesus commended the righteous for visiting the sick, feeding the hungry and clothing the poor. They were surprised when they were told that inasmuch as they did it unto the least of his brethren they had done it unto Jesus. James defines pure religion as visiting the fatherless and widows in their af5iction and keeping one’s self unspotted from the world.

It has been said that the only thing we can really do for God is to be kind to some of His other children. How can we show our love for God except by loving our brother? John puts it well when he says ”If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

Love, like faith, is only demonstrated by works. It is difficult to prove we love someone we are ignoring. It is James who makes the point that there is no use saying to the destitute, ”Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; not- withstanding ye give them not those things which are needed to the body.” True love will be so busy clothing and feeding the needy that they won’t even have time to talk about it.

It’s not he who talks the best but he who does it. There is an old saying, ”Actions speak louder than words.” While the Pharisees busied themselves prancing around in their long robes the poor widow was casting her two mites into the treasury. While Simon sat back condemning Jesus because he was allow- ing a sinner to touch his feet, Mary was busy anointing them and kissing them and wiping them with her hair.

Neither the widow nor Mary did very much but they did what they could. Two mites wasn’t very much but it was all the widow had. Mary’s act was a simple act of love. They did what they could. The question we must each ask ourselves is, are we? Are we putting off doing little things waiting for the big opportunity’? Are we holding on to our mites waiting for the big money to give? Are we waiting to do a great deal of good at once and as a result doing nothing?

We cannot begin earlier than today but we must not begin later. After all, we will not pass through this day ever again. If there be any kindness we can show, any good thing we can do, let us do it now.