Be.Loved. 25 Simple Acts of Love to Change a LifeSample

DAY 8: Visit the lonely or downcast

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” – John 1:14

Chances are, you’ve had moments in life when you wish you could see the face of God—to feel His presence and talk with Him and have Him talk back like others around you. The Spirit of God is always with us—this was one of the tremendous outcomes of Jesus being raised to the right hand of the Father. 

Now, His Spirit lives in us and moves about freely, everywhere, as our Teacher and Counselor. This is comforting.

And yet we are all human beings, dwelling in a land where we need others. We need conversation and companionship. We long for touch and spoken words that affirm we are alive and worth spending time with. The act of Jesus coming to earth to dwell among us is the model we are to follow. He came into a broken world to bring hope. 

He noticed the outsider, the downcast, the widow, the orphan—and He called them beloved. Every day, we see people who are alone. Or we know people whose days are marked by isolation. 

Today, become flesh and dwell with someone who is lonely. Visit a nursing home. Offer to sit near someone who is eating alone at a restaurant, or sitting alone at church. Walk across the street to the homeless man you see daily. Encourage your children to sit next to the child on the curb who is without friends. 

And then bring hope. Remind them that they are important and valuable, and that God loves them deeply. 

Reflect on how you felt doing this, how that person responded, and how you can replicate this more frequently in your life.