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enCourage Kindness – Part 1

He’s full of compassion in the midst of your pain.

What word would you say sums up the world today? Whatever it is, kind probably didn’t top your list. Even people in the Church can be cruel and divisive, firing flaming darts at each other instead of collaborating in love.

Yet kindness is a promised fruit of the Spirit that shows people we belong to Jesus.

It looks like selfless compassion, being considerate of others, acting mercifully, and loving generously in small ways as well as life-changing ones.

Perhaps the enemy of your soul has been trying to antagonize, accuse, blame, bully, harass or demean you lately. Those are the things he does best. If that’s the case, know that Jesus empathizes and understands. He’s full of compassion in the midst of your pain. You can lean into his divine kindness without reservation.

It might help to remember that Jesus was perfect and yet died a cruel criminal’s death on the cross at the hand of his enemies. Before he did, he encouraged his followers to respond to persecution with unwavering kindness. He said:

Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(Matthew 5:44-48)

It takes God to love like God. It takes God’s kindness towards us to penetrate so deep that we have it to dissolve life’s offenses before they take root in our hearts.

Let’s pray:

Dear Lord, thank you for being kind to me in spite of my weaknesses. Thank you for the caring compassion and empathy you show us every day. May I be a vessel through which your kindness towards myself and others flow in abundance. Do not let offense at the brokenness of the world take root in me. Purify my heart today, I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.