Loving Kindness

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (5:22-23).

Our church recently went through the book of Galatians, and I’ve continued to think about the fruit of the Spirit and the idea that Jesus is the perfect example of each aspect of the fruit. I started looking up verses related to each trait. I think the thing that has stood out most to me is the idea of God’s kindness.

• Ephesians 2:6-7 – “[God] 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.”
• Titus 3:4-5 – “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
• Romans 2:4 – “Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

It seems easier to believe that God is merciful and gracious toward us than that He is kind. We are sinners in need of forgiveness, and because Jesus died in our place on the cross we can receive forgiveness. We might tend to think that His mercy is given reluctantly or from some kind of contractual obligation. But the idea of God’s kindness toward us takes it to a different level. As someone has said, “He doesn’t just love me, He actually likes me.”

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word hesed may be translated as “kindness,” “loving kindness,” or “steadfast love.” In the New Testament, we see this kindness illustrated in Jesus’s life. He takes time to talk with the woman at the well even though Jewish men did not normally talk to either Samaritans or women (John 4). He treated her as someone worthy of respect and attention. He evidently found the conversation satisfying since He implied that her coming to faith was better than food for Him (v. 32).

Jesus had compassion on a widow whose only son had died, and He raised the young man from the dead (Luke 7:11-17). He could have stood back and watched the funeral procession pass like everyone else did. One wonders if He was thinking of His own mother and the loss she would soon bear at His crucifixion. His compassion couldn’t help but be expressed in a kind and miraculous act.

At another time, Jesus was approached by a leper who said, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean” (Matt. 8:1-4). Jesus could have healed him from a distance or with a simple word as He had before. Yet this time Jesus reached out to touch the man to heal him. This too was an act of kindness toward one who had probably been untouchable for years.

Others who saw Jesus brought children and infants to Him to bless them (Mark 10:13-16), and Jesus used children as illustrations (Matt. 18:1-6). There had to be something about Him that attracted children and parents to Him. Unkind and cantankerous people don’t attract children and hurting people to them.

Why then is it so hard for us to picture God as loving and kind toward us? Perhaps we identify more with Jesus’s harsh words to the Pharisees, who thought they could earn salvation if they worked hard enough. We want to prove we are good enough, but deep down we know how desperately lost we really are. We are ashamed of our inadequacy and can’t imagine that God doesn’t cringe a bit when He looks at us. (I know I’m not alone in this!)

In another section of Scripture that is illustrated perfectly by Jesus, we are told “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Do we dare to believe that God looks at us with this same loving kindness? We should!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

“Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You” (Psalm 63:3).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Behold the Man

Haman

The king’s aid, Haman, was annoyed that the Jew, Mordecai, would not bow down before him. In his self-importance he plotted the destruction of all the Jews in the kingdom. Learning of the plot, Queen Esther invites the king and Haman to two banquets. Pleased, the king offers Esther whatever she wants, whereupon she tells him that she is a Jew and that her people are in danger because of the actions of one man. Who? “This wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). Haman is hanged and arrangements are made for the deliverance of the Jews from those who would annihilate them. Haman thought only of his own honor and it turned into defeat and destruction for him, his household, and his ten sons.

David

King David stayed home instead of going out with his troops to war. He sees Bathsheba, takes advantage of her, and gets her pregnant. He tries to cover up his sin by plotting the death of her husband and marrying her himself. The prophet Nathan comes to David and tells a story of a rich man who took a poor man’s pet lamb to feed a guest. David, not yet realizing the story was about him, says the man deserved to die. Nathan’s response was “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7). David repented, “I have sinned against the Lord” (12:13), though because of his sin the child Bathsheba had borne became sick and died. David’s heart turned back to God, but there were still consequences for his family.

Jesus

John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan river when he saw Jesus coming toward him. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, 36). John knew that his job of preparing for the Messiah was nearly at its end as Jesus’s years of ministry were beginning. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (3:30).

Roughly three years later, Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus asks His disciples to go get a donkey. Matthew writes that this took place to fulfill prophecy: “Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Matt. 21:5).

Following the Passover meal, Jesus is arrested. Pilate tries to release Jesus and brings Him before the crowd— “Behold the man! …Behold your King!’” (John 19:5, 14), but the Jews demanded crucifixion. A centurion keeping watch over the crucifixion rightly proclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54).

Our Response

We have a choice set before us. We can, like Haman, pretend we are the center of the universe, seeking attention and approval, but to do so will lead to our ultimate destruction. Or we can, like David, recognize our sinfulness and repent and turn to God for forgiveness. Our sin may still have consequences, but we will find salvation. Like John the Baptist, we should realize that we are just bit players in the drama of God’s plan for the world. Jesus must be lifted up, and we must bow down before Him. We all deserve death because of our selfish and sinful choices, but through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. Jesus alone can take away the sin of the world.

One day we will all behold His glory. “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Rev. 1:7a). Let us not wait till it is too late to come to Him in humility, submission, and worship.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

The Long View

There is a tendency in modern Christianity to cherry-pick verses and plaster them on shirts, mugs, and memes without examining the context. One favorite is Jeremiah 29:11:

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Yes, that’s an encouraging word of God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge, but it wasn’t given to individual looking at his or her immediate future. The context is Israel’s captivity in Babylon. The first part of the chapter says,

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives… multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile… For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you My promise” (see vv. 4-10).

This was no promise of “just hold on a little while and you’ll get out of trouble.” This was a directive to wait a lifetime and the next generation would see national deliverance. It’s not unlike the forty years in the wilderness before Israel could enter the Promised Land following the exodus from Egypt.

We go astray when we read Scripture solely through the eyes of our Western individualized culture. Much of the Bible was written to the nation of Israel, not to individuals. That’s not to say that individual application is always wrong. There can be a lot of overlap. But it is clearly wrong to interpret verses like Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise of individual success and prosperity. Many Christians have leaned toward facets of a prosperity gospel without even realizing it. For example, youth may be led to believe that if they hold to certain Christian standards they will be guaranteed a better job, better marriage, and better life—almost equating Christianity with the American dream.

What then can we glean from Jeremiah 29? God is sovereign and omniscient, and His perspective is always long term. He is working out His divine plan over many generations in many thousands of years. He will fulfill His purposes for individuals, nations, and all of history, but that purpose does not necessarily include comfort and success for each person in their lifetime. We have to hold onto God’s perspective—the eternal reality—when we face suffering and difficulties. Our future and our hope are grounded in the truth that this life is not all there is. We can then endure as long as necessary because this life is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternal joy in His kingdom.

“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.