What God Can Do Through One Ordinary Act of Love
The people who became part of my testimony without ever knowing it.
There are a handful of people I think about often. Most of them probably had no idea how much their kindness would affect my life.
They were not trying to do something extraordinary or trying to become part of anyone’s testimony. They were simply following Christ and caring for the person God had placed before them.
The kindness I always remember
When I was an atheist, I was always striving and still disappointed in myself. I kept wondering what life was actually about.
A missionary noticed me and invited me to have dinner with his family. He listened to my struggles, showed interest in what I thought, and treated my questions as worth hearing.
It was a meal and a chair at someone’s table. But to me, it meant that someone was willing to make room.
Seeing it immediately reminded me of the gospel I had once heard. At a time when our family desperately needed hope, that Bible pointed us back to it.
I do not know whether the person who gave it to my mom ever found out what happened afterward. They simply gave someone a Bible.
After I became a Christian, the church I called home dismissed me for questioning some of its teachings. I faced accusations and was shut out by my entire church family.
My boss, who was also a missionary, invited me to coffee with another pastor who knew me well. They sat across from me and said, “Joy, we’re here for you. You are precious to God, and you belong to His family.”
They couldn’t take away my grief. But they reminded me that I was not alone and that being rejected by one church did not remove me from the family of God.
Then, in 2017, I received a scholarship to attend seminary in the United States. I had almost nothing, however, and could not afford the plane ticket.
As difficult as it was for my boss to let me go, he offered to buy the ticket for me. He helped me leave because he believed God was calling me forward.
The family who kept giving
During seminary, my only consistent financial support apart from my scholarship came from a Chinese missionary family I barely knew.
They served in a remote part of western China, where following Christ could be dangerous. They did not have much themselves, yet they kept giving to me.
Whenever I worried about their sacrifice, he would say, “Don’t worry about us. I am giving because God has given us enough.”
And then they would give again.
Their support was not one large, impressive gesture. It was their continued presence in my life. They gave what was costly to them, and they did it with joy.
Over the years, they showed me what generosity rooted in trust in God looks like.
What I mean by kindness
When I look back, I remember a chair, a Bible, a cup of coffee, a plane ticket, and financial support sent again and again.
People sometimes use “kindness” to mean being pleasant or nice. That is not what I mean here.
The kindness these people showed me required something from them. It cost time, attention, comfort, money, or courage. In each situation, someone looked beyond themselves long enough to care about what God might be doing in another person’s life.
None of them knew how my story would unfold. They did not know that their actions would still be shaping me years later. They never asked for recognition or anything in return.
They were simply faithful to the person God had placed before them.
I imagine their prayer might have been something like this:
“Lord, what an honor to play a small part in the work You are doing in someone’s life.”
One day, I will tell Jesus about them
I may never be able to repay these people.
But one day, when I see Jesus, I will tell Him what they did for me, even though He already knows. And He will reward their faithfulness.
And what they did for me was only one of countless acts of kindness that marked their lives as followers of Christ. Oh how rich they will be in heaven.
This is not about earning salvation through good works. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ. But Jesus does promise that faithfulness done in His name does not go unnoticed.
A cup of water matters to Him.
My painting A Cup of Water is based on Matthew 10:42.
The verse comes at the end of Jesus’ instructions to the twelve disciples before He sent them out to preach. They would depend on the hospitality and support of others along the way.
Jesus told them that whoever welcomed them welcomed Him. He then said that anyone who gave even a cup of cold water to one of His disciples would not lose their reward.
The promise is specifically about receiving and caring for those who belong to Christ and are serving in His name. It is not teaching us that kindness earns salvation. It shows us how closely Jesus identifies with His people and how much He values even the simplest act of care offered because of Him.
The person giving the water might not have been the one traveling, preaching, or being publicly recognized. They may only have been the person who noticed that someone was thirsty and brought them a drink.
But that mattered to Jesus.
The glass is simple, but it casts a long, colorful shadow. To me, that shadow represents the reach of ordinary faithfulness. We may see only the small act in front of us, but God can use it for someone’s eternal good.
The person in front of us
I sometimes wonder whether the small things I do for others really matter. Maybe you do too. We usually want to see the outcome. We want some proof that our time, attention, or sacrifice made a difference.
But many of the people who changed my life never got to see the full result of what they did.
They are ordinary followers of Christ. So are you and I.
I want to become more like them: willing to notice the person God has placed in front of me, make room, listen well, speak truth with love, and help when I can—without needing to know how the story will turn out.
We can leave the outcome with God.
No act of love done in His name is too small.
About the Artist
Hi, I’m Joy, the artist and founder of Made Seen. I grew up in China and now live in Texas with my husband and two children. I create Scripture-rooted art to shepherd hearts toward truth. My hope is that each piece points people to Christ and draws us outward in love.
