The Smile of God

I ran into a friend yesterday at a meeting and it got me thinking about a book I read years ago. It's called The Hidden Smile of God. I love John Piper's idea in the book about God's way often being the way we'd least expect and the way, in our humanity, we'd least wish for. He pours over the lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper and David Brainerd- three soldiers of the faith that stood through the hardest points any Christian could face. He traces their amazing journeys to show that God's will is often lived out directly in the muck and mire, in the absolutely worst situations and conditions, in the moments of certain defeat and helplessness because, as Amy Carmichael says, "just in those packed places lies the opportunity." I wrote her words on my sophomore dorm room wall and still think of them today. Both authors mean that in those exact moments we'd least like to be in, those moments we see our plan crumbling, are the very moments that God often makes things happen.

I was thinking about that book as I went about the rest of my day and I realized that while Piper makes an excellent point about the Hidden smile of God, I see daily the visible smile. I walked in to the meeting yesterday late, as usual, signed in and took a seat. As I sat down I realized, as I usually do, too late that I had not picked up the handout. Well, you see, I climbed over someone to sit down so getting back up would have caused a stir. But wouldn't you know, the guy I climbed over had already anticipated my need and had walked over and picked up a handout for me.

As I left the meeting I walked out with a gentleman who does similar work to me. We chatted about this and that and then I got into my car. I then realized he had walked the opposite direction of his car to kindly continue our conversation and let me get to my car safely.

I think there are so many ways to express Jesus' love to others but my favorites are the ways that the unobservant person may not notice but still are genuine act of kindness. Those moments that you've made someone's life a little easier, a little more worth living. Those moments that even for a brief period the tension ceases and you experience a moment of harmony. In my moments today these two people showed me Jesus much more than any other means. I am grateful to them as I am to thousands of others who have shown a person like me a great deal of grace and love. And I wonder what I've done today to take a few steps out of my way to lighten someone else's load and be Jesus to them, even if just for a moment.