LOVING
KINDNESS
Jeremiah
9:23-24
“This
is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise
man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man
boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice
and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.’ declares the Lord.”
The last devotion Vine of Love listed the fruit of the
Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. We
learned that these virtues are produced by God’s Spirit in people who believe
in Jesus Christ, and trust Him as Lord of their lives. These believers surrender their will to
Jesus. They remain connected to Him as
the vine. In turn, Jesus enables
them—the branches—to bear much fruit.
(Fruit for the kingdom of God).
Author Ray Stedman claims that all
the fruit are expressions of the first one—LOVE. He explains, “After all, joy is love enjoying
itself; peace is love resting; patience is love waiting; kindness is love
reacting; goodness is love choosing; faithfulness is love keeping its word;
gentleness is love empathizing; and self-control is love resisting temptation.”
Zeroing in on kindness: kindness is
how love reacts in every situation.
Kindness is generous, always finding whatever is good. Kindness is sensitive to others, using
soft-spoken words to either discipline or praise. Kindness spurs considerate replies even to
ugly behavior. Kindness puts the other’s
welfare before one’s self.
Kindness inspires kindness in
return.
When a kind person interacts with
another, foul and hateful speech is avoided.
Kindness spreads peace and joy to everyone within hearing range. Kindness prompts others to respond with
patience and goodness. It’s easy to be
gentle and faithful to a kind person.
It’s hard to lose control when dealing with a kind person.
Kindness is so admirable that God delights
in it. (See opening Scripture). He delights to see kindness in His kids, too. A kind person always smiles—the first thing
we notice about another. It’s hard to
ignore a smile beaming in our faces. Our
reaction? Smile in return, of course!
Consider God’s kindness to His
kids. Remember times when you were sad
or upset. When God showed up into your
situation, everything resolved. You
instantly became light and happy. Let’s always confess times when we are mean
or rude to another. Repenting
unkindness, and cooperating with the Spirit grows God’s kids past this ugly
behavior.
Take
Home Nugget
Kindness is not “dress”
clothes. Kindness is everyday work and
play clothes. Wear kindness daily and
remember to keep it on until bedtime.
Kindness
is good for all occasions: from morning ‘till night, in sunshine and in rain, wear
kindness as God’s light.
J.D. Griffith
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment