Galatians 5:22-23
New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I have spent the last few hours thinking about "kindness" and its attributes. This is the fifth component of the fruit of the Spirit. I have been contemplating the nine separate aspects that complete the fruit and give us Godly character that mirror the Lord Jesus Christ.
God said "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them." Hosea 11:4. This scripture is an awesome picture of the kindness of the Lord toward us. Kindness is what compassion looks like. The word tells us that God is a God of compassion. Compassion is the quality that compels us to act on with kindness toward those we come in contact with.
First of all we need to be kind to those who are part of the body of Christ. Galatians 6:9-10 exhorts us to "not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." This verse tells us that we should especially do good to those who are part of our family of believers. We are to do good to others for sure but we are to go out of our way to show kindness to the body of Christ. You would think that should be easy to do. But the truth is we tend to hold our brothers and sisters to a higher standard than we do the world, and that's okay as long as we don't judge and cut our church family off when they fail. Christian's do fail, you know. and the test of kindness comes in how we handle those covered in the stink of failure. A kind word or deed encourages a saint to get back up and try again. Judgement and condemnation can cut them off from the grace of God which should flow through the body. Remember kindness is best appropriated to those who find themselves without hope, without food, without friends, and without love. I know this first hand. At a time in my life when I was unlovely and walking in bitterness, the kindness of other Christians pulled me back to the life that is found in the body of Christ.
We are also to share the kindness that God has bestowed on us with the lost and dying world that we rub shoulders with every day. To feed the hungry, to visit those in prison, to give to the needy, and to bless the downtrodden is to epitomize the grace and nature of Christ Himself. As we remember what Christ did for us, it should encourage us to share that same kind of love and kindness to others. This attribute of Christ is one of the strongest and most powerful life changing aspects of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we show kindness to those in need, we come to the place of bending to lift up the fallen and kiss the cheek of the lonely in this world. While others pass them by with a look of disdain, we stop along the road of life to help put them on a path to God.
One of my favorite worship choruses is the song "Kindness". One of the lines in this song says, "It's you kindness Lord that draws us to repentance". Such a powerful statement. If you want to be a soul winner, just let the kindness of Christ flow through you and you will see the souls of many transformed, drawn out of darkness, and established in the kingdom of His marvelous light. That's what I'm thinking!!
I have spent the last few hours thinking about "kindness" and its attributes. This is the fifth component of the fruit of the Spirit. I have been contemplating the nine separate aspects that complete the fruit and give us Godly character that mirror the Lord Jesus Christ.
God said "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them." Hosea 11:4. This scripture is an awesome picture of the kindness of the Lord toward us. Kindness is what compassion looks like. The word tells us that God is a God of compassion. Compassion is the quality that compels us to act on with kindness toward those we come in contact with.
First of all we need to be kind to those who are part of the body of Christ. Galatians 6:9-10 exhorts us to "not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." This verse tells us that we should especially do good to those who are part of our family of believers. We are to do good to others for sure but we are to go out of our way to show kindness to the body of Christ. You would think that should be easy to do. But the truth is we tend to hold our brothers and sisters to a higher standard than we do the world, and that's okay as long as we don't judge and cut our church family off when they fail. Christian's do fail, you know. and the test of kindness comes in how we handle those covered in the stink of failure. A kind word or deed encourages a saint to get back up and try again. Judgement and condemnation can cut them off from the grace of God which should flow through the body. Remember kindness is best appropriated to those who find themselves without hope, without food, without friends, and without love. I know this first hand. At a time in my life when I was unlovely and walking in bitterness, the kindness of other Christians pulled me back to the life that is found in the body of Christ.
We are also to share the kindness that God has bestowed on us with the lost and dying world that we rub shoulders with every day. To feed the hungry, to visit those in prison, to give to the needy, and to bless the downtrodden is to epitomize the grace and nature of Christ Himself. As we remember what Christ did for us, it should encourage us to share that same kind of love and kindness to others. This attribute of Christ is one of the strongest and most powerful life changing aspects of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we show kindness to those in need, we come to the place of bending to lift up the fallen and kiss the cheek of the lonely in this world. While others pass them by with a look of disdain, we stop along the road of life to help put them on a path to God.
One of my favorite worship choruses is the song "Kindness". One of the lines in this song says, "It's you kindness Lord that draws us to repentance". Such a powerful statement. If you want to be a soul winner, just let the kindness of Christ flow through you and you will see the souls of many transformed, drawn out of darkness, and established in the kingdom of His marvelous light. That's what I'm thinking!!
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