We can sometimes move heaven and earth for others but sometimes the simplest of gestures can mean the world.
Grand gestures can be hard for some to accept. But simple gestures can so often mean the world. Because with simple gestures they require us to know or pay attention to others. And show we care.
And that is why they mean so much to those who receive them.
A woman washed Jesus' feet while he are with a Pharisee. And while this may seem like an odd or simple gesture Jesus used it as a teachable moment.
He pointed out that this woman kissed His feet while the Pharisee never gave Jesus any kiss or affectionate gesture. He pointed out her devotion. Devotion which the Pharisee never showed Christ.
The last act Jesus gave to His disciples was to gird Himself as a servant and then wash His disciples feet. Jesus essentially wore the uniform of a servant and graciously served them. Because He was our servant King. Only one who serves is fit to lead.
That old man who talks to his dead wife at the park bench thought that no one noticed him. But the city workers did. They took time out of their day to serve him. That showed the old man that he was noticed, that he was cared for.
Paying attention to others shows them we care, shows them we notice them, and that they are important to us. Sometimes the simplest of gestures can have the biggest impact.
For my wife's engagement/wedding ring I went to a custom jewelry store. I designed a ring and picked the stone, made it heart shaped out of amethyst which my wife asked for. The ring swoops up on one side and down on the other with the stone in the middle holding the ring together.
I listened to my wife and by showing her she felt loved. She says she felt broken by a hard life and that the ring looked as broken but the stone like our love brought the pieces back together. It connected the two pieces.
That's the story she told me about how she feels about the ring. So while I thought she liked it, she loved it so much she put a story to it. An inexpensive ring meant more than what I did or did not spend because I listened to her and got creative.
Sometimes the little things have the biggest impact.
Jesus never wrote a literary epic like Homer, He never painted a masterpiece, He never held a public office, He was never an earthly King.
Jesus was a preacher from a place that no one thought any good could come from. He did great things that were written about but I'm sure there were plenty of simple gestures that made an infinite impact.
He didn't do it all in a day. He did it one leper, one adulteress and one person at a time. And because of that He made what may have been the biggest impact in history. He may have made the biggest impact on humanity.
And we can too. Gandhi said that whatever we do may be insignificant but it is essential that we do it. Because it's the simple things that make the biggest difference and that's what always has.
