The Kindness of God

Often times, the word kindness is synonomous with the word nice or even tolerant. But what does kindness mean from the Divine Source?

Unlike the kindness of the world that focuses on superifical "niceness" by way of tolerating sin, the kindness of God  is a profound act of grace that works through the Spirit to lead a sinner into a reconciled relationship with God. God's grace is never meant to applaud, condone, support, encourage, or overlook sin. But rather motivate the sinner into repentance from the sin (Titus 3:4, Romans 2:4, Romans 11:22, Ephesians 2:7).

God is kind and merciful and forgiving and patient and loving. Yes! He is all these things and more. But, He is also perfectly just and holy. He cannot overlook sin. God's kindness provides salvation, protection and favor to His people in ways that providentially lead His people towards His holy and just nature--not further away from it.

And while God demonstrates His kindness in creative ways throughout history, the pinnacle of His kindness is seen through Christ, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus..." (Ephesians 2:4-7, ESV).

The blessings of God's grace are immeasurable and demonstrated through the kindness given to us through Christ. But what does this mean, exactly? It means that when Christ, who knew no sin, became our sin on the cross, that we might become His righteousness, He provided the ultimate path of repentence for all sinners, that we might enter a reconciled relationship with God. That, is the true measure of God's kindness.

God's kindness is not based on our good works or efforts. His kindness is based on mercy. And yet, as we experince His merciful kindness, we are drawn nearer and nearer to His holy and just nature in a way that transforms our own sinful patterns into the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

God's kindness is extended to us through Christ even while we are sinners. But His kindness does not let us sit in our sinful darkness. Instead, it reaches down to us in our filth and extends an invitation to receive salvation from our destruction. This covenant of peace offered through Christ is a level of kindness that surpasses the temporary circumstances of this life and extends into the eternal state of our souls.

Kindness is the at the very center of God's character and His mission. And next week we will look at how God calls all of His followers to carry on this mission of divine kindness that aims to restore humanity back to the Creator.