Day Twenty-Two

Day Twenty-Two // March 21 // Growing Kindness

“Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not.” – Samuel Johnson –

Kindness is a choice – one that grows from the seeds of goodness, patience and love. More than mere niceness, kindness goes one step further. It traverses the wide gap that separates me from you to reflect the very nature of God – the very nature of the God who, in Jesus Christ, spanned the chasm of sin and death to invite us nearer to Him. It wasn’t deserved. It couldn’t be earned. But in God’s kind forbearance, He made the choice to love us – broken and wounded sheep in need of a Shepherd.

Then, what we must come to understand is that God invites (and expects) us to continue that healing and

inviting presence in the world. God expects kindness from his flock.

Kindness sounds so simple. In fact, it is. Kindness is simple. But it is not easy. It is not easy to extend ourselves to the one who’s hurt us. It’s not easy to care for the one who’s rude. Kindness is simple; it’s uncomplicated, but it is certainly not easy.

It is the way of sanctification – the way of being made more like Jesus – in the flesh. It is about our choices: our day-in, day-out decisions about who we want to be and about Who we want to serve. When our flesh wants payback, kindness demands grace. When our flesh screams now, kindness whispers wait. When our flesh seeks convenience and utility and haste, kindness suggests prudence and the “gentle answer that turns away anger” (Proverbs 15:1). Kindness demands that we fight back against all that our lower angels would bid us think and say and do - to reflect the love and compassion of Christ. Was He kind? Absolutely. But we minimize who Jesus was if we assume Him nice – for, nice has no teeth; nice has no spine. Nice only pats us shallowly on the back while it winks at our sin. Kind wants more than that; it commands more than that. Kind tells us what we need to hear, but it does so in a way that we can hear it.

WEEK FIVE: Selfishness – The Rot of Generosity –

“For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.” – James 3:16 –