The subversive lasting influence of God‘s kindness
World War II ground troops faced a giant problem with German Panzer tanks. They were superior to the American version and seemed invulnerable. The problem was German tanks had seemingly in penetrable armor that our machinery could not penetrate. Grenades, bazookas, .50 caliber machine guns, nothing seemed to penetrate these, including our own tank blasts.
Along the way, someone tried a simple and deadly fix that stopped the Nazis in their tracks. Tank busting grenades, more powerful than than the typical smaller pineapple shaped version, were effective but the bombs needed to come in close contact to work.
One innovative soldier asked, “What if you you could attach a tank grenade to a German tank and get it to stick. That would disable the tank.
Someone thought, “Why not coat our bombs in thick axel grease that we have an abundance, then attach them directly to the the vulnerable part of the machine. The grease will hold it in place until it ignites.“ Popular films set in World War II action movies such as Saving Private Ryan portrayed grease bombs in action. The delayed timers allowed a soldier to sneak up to the tank, attach a bomb, and take off before it exploded. It was a great success in overcoming armor that seemed impenetrable.
Outreach Delay Power
There is a spiritual equivalent to the grease bomb of World War II. In much the same way as those attached to a seemingly impenetrable tank, a seed of kindness planted in someone often has a delayed response. In each case, there is a bomb that goes off — think of it as in our context as a “love bomb“ based on the scripture, “The kindness of God leads to a radical life change. —Romans 2:4 (MSG).
Doing outreach with practical expressions of God‘s kindness often leads to a delayed, but powerful response. An early concern of mine has been the question, “Are we just giving away bottles of water, or is something practical AND spiritual going on here?“
It didn’t take long until we began to hear stories from not-yet-connected folks telling their friends they were touched with kindness. It wasn’t long until we began to see foot traffic coming into our local church. It turns out that when we show the kindness of GOD in practical ways outsiders become curious, enough to even show up at church!
Practical approaches vary from from a $1 carwash where we give drivers money for the privilege of washing their car.
It’s as simple as bringing the generosity and kindness of God to those who are not expecting it, and in some cases, are experiencing life that is the opposite of kindness.
One of my favorite grease bomb approaches is tipping a couple of dollars to drive-through window workers and offering to pray a 10-second prayer for them. I’m almost never turned down, and sometimes I see not just a smile but also a tear of thank you. I frequent the Del Taco drive thru near me often enough that they are familiar with me. I get Del Taco food and plant seeds along my outreach rounds in the community.
Is it possible to radically change the world around us? You know about the power of the gospel and the presence of the Holy Spirit to make a difference because it has in you as well. After doing Kindness Outreach for decades, I have come to the conclusion that it really doesn’t matter what the immediate response is because the nature of humanity is to ponder. Bringing kindness to others pushes the pondering button of the human heart and mind. In other words, don’t worry about the initial response to kindness shown. Be patient. GOD’s word and presence will not return void without accomplishing His change.
