Kindness

(This is something I wrote awhile back on GUTS. But as I find myself in a similar place again-I wanted to re-post it. God is always Kind. Be blessed.)

Kindness seems to be a sweet, cute little word. You may tell a woman she’s kind to bake cookies for her co-workers, or you may tell children to be kind to their friends. However, lately God has been showing me his kindness…and his kindness is meant to lead to repentance (Eph 2:4). If kindness can do that, it makes me think it’s not just a sweet, cute little word.

I started thinking about this over the past couple months as I have been pretty distant from God. I’d been having such a lack of discipline in reading & praying. Even in times that I wanted to come to God, I had this cloud of guilt over my head. It was reminding me that I hadn’t been treasuring Christ and seeking him and therefore I didn’t deserve to approach him. So I didn’t. However, God will finish the good work he started in me (Phil 1:6) …and He will always have His way. So even though I didn’t read my bible or pray, God was going to reveal to me His kindness.

For that I praise Him.

So though I wouldn’t open my bible, I would read other things (blogs, books, etc- So religious!) about God. One of the authors was Charles Spurgeon. It was a sermon titled “The Treasures of Grace.”  Yet as I read it, it was as if I had my hand out saying “this is for those whom don’t know Jesus not me, I know better.” But I couldn’t get these words out of my head:

“Love in the human breast is a passion. With God it is not so. Love is an attribute of divine essence. God is love. In men, grace and bounty may grow in a habit, but grace with God is an intrinsic attribute of his nature. He cannot but be gracious. As by necessity of his Godhead he is omnipotent, and omnipresent, so by absolute necessity of his divinity is he gracious.”

Basically, it’s God’s character to be gracious. Just as he is always fully omnipresent He is always fully gracious. God is not gracious some but all of the time. Every time I sin, he is there being 100% gracious. So though I said, “I won’t let this affect me” I couldn’t help but think about grace.

A bit later my pastor Tim preached on Election. That night I learned that election is full of grace & kindness. Election is about God destining people to know him. While many would ask: How is that fair? That question is answered by looking at the human condition. From Romans 3:23 we learned that ALL fall short of the glory of God, and from Ephesians 2:3 that we were children of wrath, and again from Romans 3:10-14 that ALL have turned away from God & that NONE are righteous.

Tim explained that if this is the biblical human condition and God is a Holy God…then compared to him, we deserve hell. Think about it- that’s what we deserve. Yet, while I was still sinner, Christ died for me (Rom 5:8), and even more, before the foundations of the earth were even laid God chose me (Eph 1:4)! How can that be?! How can it be that me a sinful child of wrath would be chosen before the foundations of the earth when I don’t even deserve Heaven? Sure it was faith-but even that was a gift! (Eph 2:8) Talk about humility.

So here I am- knowing what I deserve. I have done nothing good to deserve the salvation of Christ. I don’t read my bible enough or pray enough. I don’t serve & love my husband enough. I can’t do anything enough to deserve the love of God. Likewise, I cannot ignore the bible enough, keep from God enough, sin enough for Christ’s blood to uncover me. As my pastor said a couple of weeks ago “He is a fool who thinks his sin is bigger and more powerful than Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.”

You see this kindness has made me change my view of self and sin. I’ve been a fool- believing my sins have been bigger than Christ’s sacrifice (It’s why I avoided Him). And while it is true that I have been wrong in avoiding God and his Word, that I can do better at serving and loving my husband, and that I fall SO short of God’s glory and deserve Hell, the kindness of God is still constant-offering me grace.

For that I cannot help but say, “God, I’m sorry for my terrible thinking and ignoring you. Forgive me! Help me treasure Christ more. Thank you for your great kindness in my life!” And I am desperate to live like his grace is sufficient-because it is.

God is a KIND God. Kindness entails a lot of BIG implications. It has brought about repentance for me. May we not be so foolish as to think our sins are bigger than Christ’s powerful work on the cross. His kindness is meant to bring us to repentance. May we trust that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).