A Tiny Resurrection
Proverbs 15:30
Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart,
and good news gives health to the bones.
Want to experience a tiny resurrection today? Smile at a stranger. In fact, smile at strangers all day long. Heaven knows the world needs it. Heaven knows you need it.
Considered by many to be the greatest saint of modern times, St. Therese of Lisieux is beloved for her simplicity of faith, her spirituality of “The Little Way.” St. Therese, a Carmelite nun, died of tuberculosis at the age of 24 in 1897, but her “little way of love” lives on in the countless others who remain inspired by her life and teachings. She practiced her faith by attempting to imbue every action with love. Her “little way” was not to strive toward doing great things, but instead to do the small day to day things with greater love.
She wrote, “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love,” and “A word or smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul.”
Such truth. I have experienced it? Haven’t you? A genuine smile, a kind word, or a gentle touch can be like a breath of air to the drowning. In these troubled days, many of us feel like the world needs so much more than any of us can provide. Today, be reminded that the world has a Savior, One who arrives on the scene in the smallest of kind acts, every time you smile at a stranger, or speak a kind word, or lend a hand, or show compassion in any way.
It is balm for a broken heart, and sometimes it is enough to revive a weary soul.
As the writer of Proverbs says, “Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.”
Will you join me in prayer?
Lord, shine your light through my eyes this day, that I might carry a tiny bit of your resurrection power into this world deeply in need of your love and redemption. In Christ’s loving and holy name, I pray. Amen.
Today’s devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
