How a Smile Can Help Foster God’s Kingdom on Earth
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The Holy Spirit can share that truth with another through your smile—if you let it shine.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Eva Blanco
A smile can draw someone else your way and make them wonder, “What’s their secret?” Perhaps they wonder why you’re smiling. What’s the meaning behind your joy? What happiness do you have that so many in this world do not? Perhaps they come closer, curious. They sense the joy within and cannot help but step closer.
If this happens to be a smile you offer an acquaintance or coworker or someone else you see semi-regularly, that smile can serve as a proverbial foot in the door when it comes to evangelism. Think about it: Perhaps it helps initiate a conversation, and that leads to inviting that person to church or telling them honestly why are you have that hope (Jesus).
A coworker once asked me why I was always so smiley, and I remember telling her I just had peace in my heart because of my faith. She got a funny look on her face.
“Like, church?” she asked, wrinkling her nose a bit.
“Yes, but more than that,” I explained. “It’s just this … this hope I have deep inside that everything is going to be OK, that God is handling everything no matter what.”
She ended up coming to church with me a few times after that. While I’ve long since moved away, I’d love to think she’s a Christian today because of what she saw that appealed to her. She wanted that joy and peace, too.
The Holy Spirit gives us lasting joy that bubbles up and out into the world. As the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, the Macedonian churches were going through a time of intense hardship, yet despite this, “Their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
Joy can be contagious. It inspires others to joy, as well.
The next time you feel shy about offering a smile to someone you don’t know, gather your courage and let that joy shine out to all through the expression on your face.
You never know the impact it can have on another life.
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