May Day began
as a spring festival long ago. People
gathered together on the first day of May to celebrate the coming of summer. A lot of different customs have been a part
of May Day festivities. For example,
some people would gather flowers and put them by their doors and windows to
keep out troublesome fairies. Some would
put out their old fireplace hearth fires and gather with people in their
village to start a new fire to take home.
One custom included cutting down a tree and putting up a Maypole in the
center of town. Ribbons were attached to
the pole and woven together by dancers.
One other custom included filling May Baskets with flowers and other
goodies to give to friends and loved ones.
We may not
participate in as many May Day festivities as people did years ago, but in the Bible the
Apostle Paul challenges us to do good to other people. He says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).
This text seems to tell us three things:
2)
We
should be open to do good to everyone.
3)
We
should especially do good to those who are part of the family of God.
During this
month you might ask yourself a question – “What have I done to show kindness
and goodness to others?” Maybe this
would be a great time to identify at least five people that come to your
mind. Plan to do something special for
them. How about a telephone call to one
or more individuals just to say “Hi” and see how they are doing? What about sending a note or an email to
someone to tell them what you appreciate about them? How about talking to someone and let them
know that you have been praying for them?
Maybe you could determine that you are going to smile and be friendly to
other people more often this month.
Let’s use May Day as a prod to encourage us to do good to others.
