A Christmas Jar Kindness
As we approach Christmas so many people get caught up in the stress of trying to find the perfect gift for family and friends, but what if we thought “Outside The Box” this Christmas and consider doing something special for a complete stranger or for a person we don’t know well? What if we prepared something unique and special that would demonstrate God’s love to this person? When we think about sharing our faith in God, or witnessing for Jesus during December, we often get intimidated by the complexity of the story rather than keeping things simple and to the point. Jesus made it simple for all of us when he said:
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, so you also love one another.
Loving people can be as simple as speaking words of encouragement or kindness, or buying someone a cup of coffee or paying for a meal. The means of expressing our love just needs to be from the heart to care for others. During the Christmas season people are more open to accepting such acts of kindness and it may open a door for sharing our testimony of how Christ has changed our lives.
A number of years ago, I led my church in Upstate New York in a new way by sharing the love of God with a simple canning jar full of coins we each saved. This outreach was created after I read the book called “The Christmas Jar” written by Jason Wright, which is still sold on Amazon. The book was written in 2009, but it’s as relevant today as the day it was first published.
The story revolves around a newspaper reporter who uncovered a story of someone anonymously giving canning jars filled with spare coins to people with needs. I bought this book and was so impacted by it that I handed out copies of the book to my church body. And so we started a new Christmas outreach to our community. I don’t know the full impact of our efforts, but I know it changed all who participated in the Christmas Jar challenge.
The object of the outreach was for individuals to receive a quart canning jar at church and, over the next few months before Christmas, to put their spare change in the jars every day when they came home. The week before Christmas we all brought our jars to church and, as a congregation, we prayed over the jars for the Holy Spirit to guide us individually to the person we should give the jars to that next week. The interesting thing was that most people were somewhat scared to do this on their own. My heart as their pastor was to encourage them to believe God for “Divine Appointments” tailored just for them and the person they would give their jar to. Each jar had different amounts of money, from $75 – $150, based on the type of change the people came home with each day.
The stories that came back the Sunday after Christmas were astounding as people “PRACTICALLY” shared the love of God with these simple jars. Let me share just a few of these stories in the hope that you will be inspired and share God’s love like our church body did that year and for many years after.
Story # 1 Clyde
Clyde found a woman who lost her ability to work her regular job during the winter so she had to work two jobs just to make ends meet. Receiving the jar so moved her by making up the difference in her own bills that the next year she saved her own jar of money to bless someone else with!
Story # 2 Rob
I was driving to church Sunday morning at about 7:45. I saw a man walking along Route 50. A quick glance at the thermometer in my car told me it was 14 degrees outside. I pulled over and offered him a ride. He told me he was walking home from work from Ballston Spa to Wilton, many miles away.
As we talked about how cold it was outside he said that he had been living in Virginia Beach a year ago. I asked what he was doing there and he said he had gone there with a woman. When I asked what had brought him back to the frozen north he said the woman had thrown him and his 12 year-old daughter out about three months ago so he came home to Ballston Spa.
He asked if I was going to work. I told him no, I was on my way to church and I pointed it out as we passed Abundant Life. He said that I could just drop him off and that I didn’t have to take him all the way. I said I was glad to do it.
When I did drop him off, I reached for the Christmas Jar and handed it to him (even though I knew we were supposed to bring them to church and pray over them first). I said, “This is for you, so that you know that God loves you. Merry Christmas.” He hugged the jar tightly against his chest and said with excitement, “Thanks! Thank you!” As he got out of the car I wished him Merry Christmas again. As he was walking away he stopped, turned around, waved and mouthed the words, “Thank you” again, with a big smile on his face.
As I drove away, I marveled at how quickly and easily God brought someone into my path who was truly in need of the money and some encouragement.
Story # 3 Donna
This year has been one of the best Christmases I’ve ever experienced in my life! Christmas is all about giving in gratitude for the greatest gift of all – Jesus. But this year, gift-giving touched my heart in a profound way.
My husband and I had decided several weeks earlier who we would give the Christmas jar to. The previous Christmas season we stopped at a local restaurant to have pizza. After the waitress had taken our order, I sensed that we should give the Christmas jar to her.
I didn’t say anything to my husband but he said to me, “I think we should give the Christmas jar to this waitress.” That was the confirmation.
We asked the name of the waitress and what her work schedule was so we could be at the right place at the right time, which turned out to be Sunday evening (December 19th) from 5 pm to closing.
Sandy waited on us that evening at about 5:30 pm. Bob did the talking and told her that God cares about her and loves her. He presented the Christmas jar to her and she was astounded, to say the least! She could hardly believe that perfect strangers would be so generous.
She began sharing personal things about her life – that she was from England and hadn’t seen her family in many years. She was widowed twice and has two sons from each marriage. A third son was killed by a speeding driver. She managed a “Things Remembered” store in Clifton Park and one of the stores would be shutting down Christmas Eve due to financial loss. I could tell that this woman was tired and lonely, yet still bearing life quite bravely.
Whether Sandy had a financial need is uncertain, but she certainly had a spiritual need. The Christmas jar was the perfect opportunity to express the love of God! It was a defining moment for her because she wondered why strangers would lavish her with a gift, except that maybe God was involved in some way. Bob and I prayed for her as we left the restaurant.
Sharing God’s love with Sandy reminded me of His abounding love for me, and it filled my heart with peace and joy. It’s true that a generous person will prosper, and whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)
Story # 4 Doug
My kids were out with me for around 3 hours shopping from store to store, from the mall to Walmart and finally Five Below. Before we went into Five Below I declared to my kids that we would be handing our jar out to someone in this store. We all emptied our pockets of change and filled our jar for the last time.
We shopped for around 20 minutes looking for God’s leading. One of my buddies from high school walked in and I said hi. I then continued looking. We all checked out and then I saw my friend again. We talked for a good 10 minutes about what was happening in our lives. At first, he sounded like things were going great but the more we talked the more he opened up to me about what was really happening in his and his family’s life.
Long story short, he had been out of work for six weeks with health issues. It was then that I put my jar in his shopping cart and said that this was for him. He asked why and I said my family wants to bless someone on Christmas and I let him know God loves him. He said thanks and I left the store. God is truly faithful. I don’t know if I could have given it to a complete stranger, so God brought someone to me that I have known for years so that I could bless them.
There are many more stories I could add from this “NEW TRADITION” we participated in as a church family for many years. We were blessed with marvelous stories of generosity and redemption. I recommend that you buy the book and start your own tradition in which you are guided to just the right person who needs a touch from God in their life.
Mark 12:33
Love God with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
My hope and prayer is that each of us will ask the Holy Spirit what we can do this Christmas season to touch someone with the love of God through acts of kindness like a Christmas Jar, and to bless our Heavenly Father because we loved others in a practical way.
Questions:
1) In what interesting ways do you share the love of God with people outside of your family and friends? If you haven’t, why not?
2) Will you commit to allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you to make a difference in someone else’s life this Christmas? He is waiting for all of us to be filled with the Father’s love to a lost and dying world.
Pastor Dale
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