Fruits of the Spirit Series - Kindness
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Think about a person who is or has been very kind to you. How was that experience? How did their genuine kindness make you feel? According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to be kind is to be of a sympathetic or helpful nature; of a forbearing nature. In the previous blog post in this series, we discussed forbearance, or having patience towards others. God sees our needs and deals kindly with us to ensure that we have the utmost provision to get through life. In fact, He takes it a step further by providing us with loving-kindness: an unconditional expression of tenderness and mercy towards us that is carried out by His daily faithful actions.
When I think of kindness, my mind often drifts back to preschool and grade school when we first learned to be kind to one another and to treat others as we would like to be treated. Kindness is how our classrooms functioned better, with all the moving parts doing as they should. Exhibiting kindness meant not distracting your classmate or talking out of turn; lending school supplies like glue sticks and pencils; and ensuring that no one felt ostracized so that everyone could have a meaningful learning experience. If we apply this to our communities as small as our families and as large as our continents, imagine how well this world would function? Being kind automatically requires you to love someone because it requires a level of understanding, maturity, and affection to have genuine consideration for others. As we delve deeper into this series, we can see how each fruit connects and complements one other. This fruitful harvest allows us to capture the fullness of God so that we can mimic this in our environments and spread His light.
In the B part of Jonah 4:2 it says: “Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.” In this verse, we see that even when we are disobedient to God’s will for us, He still extends a mighty hand of mercy and grace to be kind and gentle towards us as we find our way to the narrow path. God calls us to go and do likewise to our brethren in Ephesians 4:32.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
He also calls us to be set apart and bear this fruit in Colossians 3:12.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,... Colossians 3:12
So, how can we better cultivate this fruit?
Reflection and Application
Remember a time when someone was genuinely kind to you. Why did you perceive their acts or words as kind?
What are examples of God’s kindness and loving kindness towards His people in the Bible?
How has God been kind to you?
In your prayer time, ask how you can grow this fruit.
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