There is a time of the day before the break of dawn that I love to come to my “Upper Room” in our new home and wait upon the Lord. In those quiet hours before the world awakens I sit and listen for His voice. I wait for His loving presence as I worship Him. Oh the joy of knowing Him more each day.
In these times of intimate renewal of soul and spirit in His presence He is revealing His kindness to me. He is showing me that the love He has for me is first of all a kindlove. It is a love that is concerned about me and a love that is constant for me; it is the Father’s kind love for me and for you too!
As I meditate on I Cor. 13, I see that the Word of the Lord tells us that “love is kind”. God’s heart of love is full of kindness. But what do you and I mean when we think of the word “kindness”? I remember it as a word often used when I was raising my own children and in the many classroom situations in which I taught for years. “Be Kind!” That is what I would instruct the children to do. Treat each other as they wanted to be treated… be kind.
To me kindness is about being considerate of someone else’s feelings before my own. The Proverbs 31 woman was reported to be a gal who “when she speaks, her words are wise, AND kindness is the rule for everything she says.” Pr.31:26 Living Bible. Have you ever complimented a waitress on a job well done? A tip is nice; a kind word deposits the Father’s love. Have you ever taken time to notice the person in front of you and said something which got the response; “boy, that just made my day!” There are loads of people we run into everyday who just simply need a kind word or smile to help them get through the day.
Years ago I taught in a fifth grade classroom. We piloted a program which encouraged children to do “Random acts of Kindness”. And we, like children, often need to be taught to be kind. Paul says in Col. 13;12.. “Put onkindness”. So then, it is not something that comes naturally to our sinful nature. Being kind AND tender hearted, thinking of the interest of others and being willing to let others “go first.”….. Well, that type of behavior is kindness and it clashes with our natural tendency to be selfish.
God has been incredibly kind to all of us. “Great is His faithfulness, His loving kindness begins afresh each day.” Lamentations 3:23 LB He lets us awaken to a new day of life and He awaits our rising so He can show us His kindness. Jesus has been lavishing kindness on us since the day love nailed Him to the cross. Yes, it was the Father’s love, the Father’s desire to show us His kindness by sacrificing His son. What greater love does anyone have than to lay down his life for another? The Father Himself laid down His life through the person of His son Jesus. What kindness!
My prayer is becoming, “Lord make me the kindest person in the world. Make me one who is so aware of your kindness to me each day and out of that gratitude for your kindness to me, let me look for ways I can express kindness to others.”
Think with me now. How can we both be kind to another today? What about a friendly phone call to someone we haven’t talked to in a long while. What about offering to do something for someone or go the extra mile in what you ARE doing? What about handing out a compliment, holding a door open, saying thank you to the cashier? What about writing an encouraging note or purposely asking the Holy Spirit how we might bless someone today?
King David looked to find someone of the house of Saul to whom he could show kindness. I love that story in II Samuel chapter 9. David lived in such awareness of the kindness of God’s expression to him that he longed to show kindness to someone who was actually connected to a king who tried to have him killed! Now that is kindness! That is a model for us: love God first, receive His kindness and look to give it away to someone.
I encourage you today; look for the kindness of God. Hiskindness is the expression of His love for you. Look for it in the sun rise, in the changing colors of the autumn leaves, in the smiling face of a child, the song of the birds, the breath you breathe …. Look for His kindness because all day, every day he is demonstrating His loving kindness to you in hundreds of ways. The accident you avoided because your kids made you run late, the bill you got to pay on time, a new friendship made, an old one restored, finding just what you needed “on sale”. Now, won’t you join me in praying for our eyes to be opened to ways that we can show others the Father’s love simply by being kind; putting their needs and feelings ahead of our own.
May the loving kindness of the Father, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Sprit hug you today! |
