Everybody’s In - The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional

Everybody’s In

Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.”

Acts 10:34

My aunt and uncle took in many foster kids and adopted several others during the seventies and eighties. Many of the children were racially different from them, and people would sometimes make comments about the children’s race or heritage. My aunt said that she would often choose to overlook people’s words, because if she tried to argue, the commenters would simply get defensive.

But there was one occasion when her kids were at a neighbor’s house playing, and the neighbor let all the kids join in except for one—my adopted cousin. As soon as my uncle heard what had happened, he quickly went to the neighbor’s home and very calmly told him, “You either let all my kids join in and play or none of them.”

As I listened to my aunt recount the story, I was proud of the hard work she and my uncle did all those years ago. It wasn’t just that they were willing to take in children and give them a home, but that they also treated each child as family. My aunt and uncle understood that every person, no matter their background or heritage, has value and worth in God’s world, and so every person was valuable to them, too.

In our world today we are still faced with people who are biased or prejudiced against other people groups. Our response as Christians should be similar to God’s, showing no favoritism. In God’s eyes, we are all equal. Everybody’s in, and no one will be left out because of their race or heritage—everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We have a choice not only in how we think about people who are different from us but also in how we treat them. The Bible tells us countless times that God’s kindness and love are for everyone, indiscriminately, and so should ours be.

—Kendra

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Combat discrimination in your own heart or your community by doing a kind act for someone who is different from you.