Two of the fruits of the Spirit, kindness and goodness, can kind of run together. I think that’s why lots of folks think there are eight fruits of the Spirit when there are in fact nine. We sort of conflate kindness and goodness in our heads and come up with one less fruit than Paul lists in Galatians 5. This week we are going to think about kindness. Next week we will think about goodness, and somewhere in the middle we will discover how they complement one another in order to make us more mature Christians.
If you haven't done so in a while, read the book of Ruth (it would have been even better to have read it before Valentine's day if you're into that sort of thing, but that ship has sailed). I suppose you can think of this book as one of the first Christian romance novels which line the shelves of our church library. It has it all: love found and lost, tragic death of a spouse, bitter mother-in-law, homeless but scrappy heroine, handsome(well, maybe, but we don't really know) knight in shining armor, and a happy ending complete with a newborn baby. But what Ruth really has in spades is kindness. The book is infused with kind actions which flow from the faith of its characters. As you read it, consider how what each person chooses to do out the kindness of his or her heart moves the narrative along and makes possible that happy ending. It is amazing what a little kindness (doing good) can accomplish!
Oops...I said "Christian" romance novel but of course some reading this will object, since Naomi, Ruth and Boaz were not "Christians." So let's edit that and say "Biblical" romance novel instead before the letters to the editor start rolling in.
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:5)
Psalm 103 is a celebration of the Lord's kindness to His people, remembering all that He has done for them in the past and looking forward to all that He will do in the future, from everlasting to everlasting. Today as you think about the Lord remember His kindness to you, for He has forgiven your sins and redeemed you from the pit. The Lord is kind!
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:27-34)
Jesus spent much of His three years preaching here on earth doing acts of kindness. Here is a prime example. A woman had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. So she went to where Jesus was and, in the midst of a large crowd, reached out and touched His cloak, believing that by doing so she would be healed. Jesus could have been irritated by this woman's boldness, I suppose, but instead He had compassion on her and told her to go in peace. He does the same for us as we come to Him with our sinfulness, our suffering, and our shame. He invites us to cling to Him and be made well, for Jesus is kind.
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7)
The kindness of God is that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is easy to be kind to those who are kind to us. "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:46-47). But to be kind to your enemies, to love those who do not love you back, this is kindness. It is the kindness Jesus showed us; it is the kindness we are called to show others.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)
It is easy to forget that Jesus' foremost job isn't to judge the world. That lies in the future and perhaps because we tend to look at what is ahead rather than what has already happened, we forget that Jesus came not to judge, but to seek and to save that which was lost. You and I were once lost but have been found, and therefore we will escape judgment (John 5:24). Now, out of kindness, we are to seek those who are lost and invite them to be saved that they, too, might benefit from the kindness of God and escape the judgement to come through His Son, our Savior.
The kindness and love of God are apparent in our salvation, but also in God's Sabbath. May you find your peace and rest in Him this day as we gather to worship. See you in church!
Two of the fruits of the Spirit, kindness and goodness, can kind of run together. I think that’s why lots of folks think there are eight fruits of the Spirit when there are in fact nine. We sort of conflate kindness and goodness in our heads and come up with one less fruit than Paul lists in Galatians 5. This week we are going to think about kindness. Next week we will think about goodness, and somewhere in the middle we will discover how they complement one another in order to make us more mature Christians.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't done so in a while, read the book of Ruth (it would have been even better to have read it before Valentine's day if you're into that sort of thing, but that ship has sailed). I suppose you can think of this book as one of the first Christian romance novels which line the shelves of our church library. It has it all: love found and lost, tragic death of a spouse, bitter mother-in-law, homeless but scrappy heroine, handsome(well, maybe, but we don't really know) knight in shining armor, and a happy ending complete with a newborn baby. But what Ruth really has in spades is kindness. The book is infused with kind actions which flow from the faith of its characters. As you read it, consider how what each person chooses to do out the kindness of his or her heart moves the narrative along and makes possible that happy ending. It is amazing what a little kindness (doing good) can accomplish!
ReplyDeleteOops...I said "Christian" romance novel but of course some reading this will object, since Naomi, Ruth and Boaz were not "Christians." So let's edit that and say "Biblical" romance novel instead before the letters to the editor start rolling in.
DeletePraise the Lord, my soul;
ReplyDeleteall my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
(Psalm 103:5)
Psalm 103 is a celebration of the Lord's kindness to His people, remembering all that He has done for them in the past and looking forward to all that He will do in the future, from everlasting to everlasting. Today as you think about the Lord remember His kindness to you, for He has forgiven your sins and redeemed you from the pit. The Lord is kind!
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
ReplyDeleteAt once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
(Mark 5:27-34)
Jesus spent much of His three years preaching here on earth doing acts of kindness. Here is a prime example. A woman had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. So she went to where Jesus was and, in the midst of a large crowd, reached out and touched His cloak, believing that by doing so she would be healed. Jesus could have been irritated by this woman's boldness, I suppose, but instead He had compassion on her and told her to go in peace. He does the same for us as we come to Him with our sinfulness, our suffering, and our shame. He invites us to cling to Him and be made well, for Jesus is kind.
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7)
ReplyDeleteThe kindness of God is that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. It is easy to be kind to those who are kind to us. "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:46-47). But to be kind to your enemies, to love those who do not love you back, this is kindness. It is the kindness Jesus showed us; it is the kindness we are called to show others.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to forget that Jesus' foremost job isn't to judge the world. That lies in the future and perhaps because we tend to look at what is ahead rather than what has already happened, we forget that Jesus came not to judge, but to seek and to save that which was lost. You and I were once lost but have been found, and therefore we will escape judgment (John 5:24). Now, out of kindness, we are to seek those who are lost and invite them to be saved that they, too, might benefit from the kindness of God and escape the judgement to come through His Son, our Savior.
The kindness and love of God are apparent in our salvation, but also in God's Sabbath. May you find your peace and rest in Him this day as we gather to worship. See you in church!
ReplyDelete