generations

1 Corinthians 13:4-9
Galatians 5:22-26
Proverbs 21:21

When was the last time someone was kind to you?
How did it make you feel?

Webster’s dictionary states that kind, as an adjective, is defined as:
“having a sympathetic nature, gentle,
characterized by sympathy or forbearance;
to give pleasure or relief, affectionate”.

In 1 John 4:8, the Bible defines God, at the very core of His essence, as:
Love

Love finds its multi-faceted definition in 1 Corinthians 13, and tucked in verse 4, this love flowing from the heart of God is kind.

The thread of God’s loving kindness is woven throughout the Bible. When I think of love being described this way, I can’t help but be moved to tears by the examples to our biblical ancestors and to us each and every day.
Journey with me and see what I mean….

In the Old Testament
In the Garden of Eden at the dawn of creation, God used His own hands to carve out our frame rather than speak us into existence as He had for every other act of creation.
How gentle and sympathetic of Him to put a personal touch on mankind.

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:7

It was love that initiated our creation, but it was kindness that drew our Creator close!
The intimacy that was intentionally and immediately established in that sacred moment, planted within us a deep connection to and with God.

The kindness shown here was just the beginning of a love story that would span multiple generations and beyond.

In the New Testament
It’s one of my favorite stories precisely because it displayed Jesus’ unfathomable kindness. There was the woman brought to Jesus because she’d been literally caught in the act of adultery in John 8:1-11.

Her accusers were bent on using her as a way to trap Jesus in a philosophical and theological debate, but Jesus knew their hearts.
Rather than engage her accusers, Jesus addressed the woman who was desperate for love. This woman, embarrassed and full of shame, stood before Him exposed.

Jesus spoke to her, not with condemnation for her past, but with love. He acted with a kindness she had likely never experienced without strings attached.
Her forgiveness and freedom were delivered through the kindness of Jesus, as He removed the weight of condemnation she was crushed beneath before weighty stones sentenced her to death. Praise God for Jesus’ kindness!

At the Cross
The cross was kindness personified. Here was the culmination of a promise made long ago in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) to restore mankind to a right relationship with God by forever crushing the head of the enemy, Satan. We were crafted for Eden as sons and daughters of God, but because of sin, the connection we had with the Father was broken (Isaiah 59:2).

But the kind heart of God is for us!
Before sin entered, a plan was already in place.

While we were in the midst of our sin, Jesus endured the cross.
I love how the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) version of Romans 5:8-9 describes this phenomenon, “But God commendeth his charity towards us; because when as yet we were sinners, according to the time, Christ died for us…”

And guess what friends? That word charity?
You guessed it; it’s a synonym for kindness.

In My Life
I have countless examples of the kindness of God in my life, but my educational journey is just one such example. I am finishing up a doctoral degree, while in the throes of “wife-ing”, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and other interests.

To say I am busy is an extreme understatement. But here’s the thing, friends.
I have seen God’s kindness!
Through various professors, peers, dissertation committee members, and my overall institution His kindness has been made known in ways that have truly blown my mind.

Extensions for papers, last-minute revisions of policies from which I have benefited, scholarships, etc. I know the kindness of my God because I have experienced it!
I can look back and see an unbroken thread of tender, loving-kindness serving as both the foundation of and structure to this process of growth for me.

Be Ye Kind
In being kind, we are exhibiting the very likeness of God through His character at work in us. We are admonished in Ephesians 4:32 to be kind and compassionate, just like God.

You may or may not be able to relate specifically to my testimony, but I know I’m not alone in witnessing the kindness of God in my life. If you look back or even around, I’m sure you too can identify a pattern of Divine kindness at work.

Just take a moment to do so, right now.
What areas of your life come to mind?
How can you, in turn, show this loving kindness of God to others?
To whom will you be kind as you mimic the Savior?!

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