In 1 Corinthians 13 I’ve been studying the Bible’s definition of love. The love Christians should have because of the work of the Holy Spirit. God is love, and God is patient. He also requires us to be patient with others. That is one way to show His love. The next word in the sentence is that love is kind.
Of course, I know in my head what kindness is but had a hard time defining it, so off to my handy dictionary I went. The dictionary defines kindness as “compassion, generosity”. That is God isn’t it?
God shows Love through His Compassion
He had compassion and mercy on sinners. Titus 3 tells us that it was because of the God’s goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared. God shows his kindness and mercy to fallen man by sending His Son to save us. That is kindness and compassion.
In Romans 2 God’s Kindness leads us to repentance. It is through his kindness and mercy that he has compassion on sinners and leads us to know Him. He wants us to repent and it is a kind act that brings us to that place of understanding.
In the Old Testament, three men refer to God as having great kindness. Nehemiah, Joel, and Jonah each use basicially the same phrase to describe God “thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness,” Jonah is specifically talking about God’s compassion on the people of Ninevah. God showed his mercy and compassion on these wicked people. God showed his love through kindness by sending Jonah to minister to them.
God shows his kindness through his generosity
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. His kindness and mercy never ends. Hard to imagine in a world where we celebrate random acts of kindness. The kindness of God is not random. It is fervent and never ending. His kindness can be seen everywhere.
David exalts the kindness of God in Psalms 145. In verse 17 he says “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. Now for a short Hebrew lesson. The Hebrew word used here is “Hasid” which means kindness or “hesed” which means steadfast love. This definition moved me. The word kindness was also His steadfast love. God show his love through his kindness to his creation. Think of the generosity of God in your life.
God is Kindness.
He delights in giving us good things. Like anyword we use to describe God, the truth is that He is the definition. He shows us kindness because God IS kindness.
God's Kindness
I often feel like I deserve something. The truth is that I deserve nothing. What I have, I have because of a kind and loving God who blesses me.
- It is because of His kindness that I was born to Christian parents who showed me Christ in their lives.
- It was the kindness of God that I met a loving husband who works hard and loves me.
- It was the kindness of God to give me two healthy and hilarious children.
- It was the lovingkindness and mercy of God that called me unto Himself at the young age of 5.
This list list could go on for pages and I don’t deserve these things, but he gives them to me because of His Kindness, which is just a unique part of His Love.
Reflect
Today, take a moment and meditate on how God shows His love to you through His Kindness. I have no doubt that if you make a list like this you will be encouraged. If you make a list, w
ould you encourage the rest of us who read this blog with how God has shown His lovingkindness to you.
