Dear Sister,
The Ultimate Act of kindness;
As I penned the words in a letter that would never be delivered, my anger, bitterness, and un-forgiveness towards the offender was handed over to God. My sin had been dragging me down, like a huge boulder around my ankles, keeping me from the life of freedom and joy that was bought for me on the Cross. And though I didn’t see it at the time, I was participating in the greatest act of kindness ever done, the first true forgiveness begun at the Cross, and continued through my changed heart towards the one that had grieved me deeply.
In Ephesians, we find this command: Ephesians 4:32 (HCSB) 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. Here we see that there is a direct relationship between kindness and forgiveness. Think back to the last time you spoke an unkind word. What was the source of that unkind word, you might ask yourself? All too often, for me, it is bitterness that has grown within me, the result of a lack of forgiveness. Oh, how easy it is to collect past hurts, like trinkets in a curio cabinet, and allow them to collect dust within us. But our example is Christ, who put aside all things, to show us the ultimate act of kindness, his death on the Cross. We see this in Ephesians, as the verse begins with the topic of kindness, and ends with the example of the cross as the final summation of the idea, of the chapter.
All of our acts of kindness must flow out of that great and glorious example of grace shown us on the Cross. Without this as the motivation for our kindness, we will be giving in to a works-based mentality, relying on our own resources, and our limited supply of kindness, rather than on the unlimited treasures of God’s grace. In my mind, kindness then is the big and small acts of grace that we shower on those around us, because of the transformation we receive through Christ and His sacrifice.
Aristotle’s Rhetoric defines kindness as being “helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped.” (Wikipedia) What greater need did any of us have, but the salvation of our souls? And what act of kindness better exemplified an act not solely for ‘the helper himself, but for that of the person helped,’ than what Christ did for us on the Cross? I pray we would not lose the depth of this virtue, kindness, as simply one in a list of many others. No, it is the result of a transformed life, a life transfixed on the Gospel.
Be kind….just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Basking in His extravagant kindness….
Your sister,
Ruth