Kindness

Romans 12:10 – “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”

Have you ever noticed how much of Christ’s life was spent in merely doing kind things?
Perhaps you should review His actions with that in mind and you will find that He spent a great portion of His time in simply making people happy and doing good deeds for needy souls.

With so many beautiful examples of our Lord’s self-sacrificing love, it is obvious that if we neglect to show concern and interest in others, we have failed as Christians, for to be His disciple is to be Christlike.

The poet has written: “What is kindness? It’s silence when our words would hurt. It’s patience when our neighbor’s curt. It’s deafness when scandal and rumors float around. It’s healing for another’s wound. It’s promptness when there’s work to do. It is courage, patient courage all day through.”

Children can sometimes in their innocent way ask questions and make statements which bring out important truths. One mother tells how her youngest son inquired, “What do people say when they get married, Mother?” She answered rather uncertainly, “Oh, they promise to love and be kind to each other.” After a little consideration, the youngster looked up and said naively, “You’re not always married, are you, Mother?”

If you are not very kind, you are not very close to the Lord. The apostle Paul says in effect that to be true followers of the Savior we should be willing to let others go before us, to honor them, and to be kindly affectionate toward them. How tenderhearted, forgiving, and loving are you? By your answer, you can judge your closeness to the Lord.