Kindness
And be kind to one another. (Ephesians 4:32)
Eph. 4:22-32; Rom. 12:10; I Cor. 13:4; II Pet. 1:5-7
What Is God Saying?
This chapter of Ephesians clarifies the characteristics that ought to accompany the new life. Here are the fruits that should grow in abundance when a person puts down their roots in the truth and love that is Jesus Christ. "Put off the old nature, put on the new nature created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph. 4:22)
It is important to note that these qualities are not optional extras. They are essential ingredients. These spiritual qualities are natural to the Christian. It is the old nature that is now unnatural. "The fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true." (Eph. 5:9) Nowhere in the Bible is a more concentrated list of things Christians should do and be. We cannot walk through this passage without knowing that God has specific needs in mind with our names attached. Notice how often these words appear: be, do, do not, put away, and not least, be kind.
How Does This Apply To Us?
This passage has deep meaning to the one whose life has been changed by the kindness of God. When we "receive the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7), and when we see that our salvation is not our doing but entirely a gift of God (Eph. 2:8), then we know what kindness is and does. Think of God's kindness in coming to give us the larger blessing; let us pray with a new awareness that God is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think." (Eph. 3:20)
Pray With Me
Lord God, Your kindness to me is beyond all expression. Like the ocean, it cannot be exhausted. Yet, surrounded by Your kindness and assured of Your love in Jesus Christ, I am not always ready to show kindness to others. Your Word does not suggest or advise kindness to others; it commands it.
By Your grace, I will show Your kindness. By Your grace, I will be Your kindness. Unshared abundance can stagnate, and uncirculated blessings can lose freshness and joy. So, let me be a channel through which Your kindness flows. Let me become emptied to become full, and let me become full only to be emptied.
Through Him whose infinite kindness did not shun, for our sakes, the Cross. Amen.
Moving On In The Life Of Prayer
Let us take this adventure in prayer and test it. We will ask God for great things and see how far we miss them. We will revel in the difference. We will rejoice in God's blessings. We will confidently pray that He gives us more strength than we need and more joy, beauty, and blessings than we can imagine.
