Episode #391 The Strength of Kindness – Fruit That Grows in Freedom

Hey, friend. Have you ever noticed that we tend to treat kindness like good manners, but God talks about kindness as a supernatural force that changes things? Today we're talking about kindness as a fruit of God's Spirit, meaning it's something that He produces in us as we freely live, empowered by His Spirit. And life with God means that we are living in step with Him. We are spending time with Him, getting to know God, and experiencing how He knows us. And one of the things that produces welling up and abundantly overflowing in us is kindness. But we tend to downplay this. At least that's been my experience.

"Oh, you're polite. You have good manners. You're nice." But kindness in Scripture is way more powerful than that. God's kindness, the kind that is produced by His Spirit, reflects His heart towards people with generosity and truth and grace. Where we can tend to think of it as being nice, not saying hard things, being polite, having good manners, God says, "No, my kindness is what draws people to repentance."

His loving kindness is also described as faithful and loyal and steadfast love. He is kind when He shares both grace and truth at the same time. He is kind in His generosity, offering grace and mercy, both of which, by definition, are not deserved by the recipient.

In Romans 2:4, it says, "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?"

I wanna pause here for a second, because growing up the way that I did, my view of God was not that His kindness would lead me to repentance. I presumed on Him in error that He would draw me to repentance through disappointment, through condemnation even. That I was at risk of losing salvation, or heaven or a relationship. That it was the threat of rejection that would prompt me to come to repent. But that's not true of God at all. It is His kindness that draws us to think again and choose and live differently.

Kindness is not weakness. It is strength that is used for another's good. And so what we see here is that kindness produced by God's Spirit is active and generous, that can lead to restoration of relationship. God's kindness moves people for our own good, even when we deserve judgment. And so as we go through life with God, God produces this in us. His kindness is something we get to experience and something that we get to then share with other people.

I have found that oftentimes when we struggle to share it with others, when we struggle to have that fruit flourishing in our own lives, it's often tied back to the root issue of we are struggling to receive that kindness from God. Because we can't share His fruit with others, the fruit of God's Spirit, if we are not receiving it ourselves.

And so I have a few questions for you to take to the Lord, depending on what resonates with you most today:

God, will you remind me of your kindness to me or show me how I can receive more of it?

And then, God, will you show me, who can receive your kindness through me today?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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