In my hometown where I grew up, everyone knew each other and spent time together. We would enjoy neighborhood cookouts, picnics, and ice cream socials each year. Our home was a place where neighbors, friends, and relatives could come to relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. My parents were loving and kind. They always looked for ways to be kind and generous. They loved taking care of others. Therefore, our home became a haven in the neighborhood, where people could be taken care of and loved.
It was several years later that I learned about the love of God and His kindness. In my first Foundational Class with The Way Ministry, I saw this principle in God’s Word. Looking back, I realized my parents had practically applied the kindness of God. Manifesting God’s love by showing kindness helps make life the best. So, let’s go to God’s Word to see what the kindness of God is and how we can share it.
I Corinthians 13:4:
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
“Charity” is the love of God in the renewed mind of the believer in manifestation, and I Corinthians tells us that God’s love is kind. From Bullinger’s lexicon we see that “kind” means “good, gentle, benevolent, benign; actively beneficent in spite of ingratitude.” We can show God’s kindness to others because we have God’s love. As we put the Word in our minds and hearts and live with God’s love, we can be gentle and kind no matter how others respond.
When did God manifest His kindness to us?
Titus 3:4-6:
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost [holy spirit].
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
God demonstrated His kindness when He made the new birth of holy spirit available to all who believe. And God will continue to show His kindness to us.
Ephesians 2:7 and 8:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are ye saved through faith….
God demonstrated His kindness and gentleness to us through His Son, who paid the price so that we could be born again and have God’s kind nature. In response to God’s kind nature toward us, we can show His kindness to others.
Ephesians 4:32:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted….
God has given us the new birth, which is Christ in us (Colossians 1:27). As we renew our minds to walk in Christ’s steps, we can show others “what’s on the inside” by being kind and tenderhearted to one another. Let’s look at two examples of how Jesus Christ showed kindness to others.
In Luke 19:1-10, Jesus Christ illustrated God’s kindness to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was the chief publican, which was the occupation of tax gathering at that time in the Eastern culture. Publicans were greatly detested by the Judeans, who ranked publicans with “sinners,” a term of deepest contempt. But Jesus Christ was not influenced by the social classes and traditions of the culture. He was not ashamed to be known as a friend to the publican and “sinner.” Jesus Christ saw Zacchaeus’s heart of love for God. Therefore he called Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree and went home with him. Jesus Christ looked on the heart of the man, not the circumstances of the five senses. Jesus Christ showed kindness to Zacchaeus and his entire household and brought salvation to them that day. Jesus Christ knew that his purpose was to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Therefore, he manifested great kindness and compassion toward Zacchaeus and his household, and he taught them the Word they needed.
The woman accused of adultery in John 8:3-11 is another record that demonstrates Jesus Christ walking with the kindness of God. The scribes and Pharisees were trying to tempt Jesus Christ so that they could accuse him of wrongdoing. By accusing the woman of being caught in the act of adultery, they were using the woman as part of the temptation. But Jesus Christ went to God and then said to the scribes and Pharisees, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Hearing his words, her accusers left one by one until only Jesus and the woman remained. He told the woman that no man condemned her and neither did he. He further told her to go and sin no more. Jesus Christ did not accuse or condemn the woman. He was loving and kind as he instructed her to go and sin no more. He gave her a clear path in the positive direction she should follow. He showed God’s kindness by being gentle and forgiving.
Our heart’s desire as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is to walk in his steps—to follow his example. We too want to show God’s kindness to others. Kindness is in our power to give because God showed His kindness to us by giving His Son for us. Now that we’ve seen some examples of what God’s kindness is from the Word, let’s look at how we can practically apply God’s kindness in our everyday walk….
This is an excerpt from the July/August 2013 issue of The Way Magazine.
Copyright© 2013 by The Way International. All rights reserved.
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