A Vine-Ripened Life by Gale Stanley D.;

Author:Gale, Stanley D.; [Gale, Stanley D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Devotional, Christian Living
ISBN: 9781601783431
Amazon: 5842256
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Published: 2014-07-10T04:00:00+00:00

Kingdom Kindness

People being kind to people—that is kindred kindness. We see it among those in the world, a product of God’s common grace. Through it we bless one another. How do you feel when someone is kind to you? A commercial shows one person holding the door for another person. It brings a smile to her face. She in turn picks up a package an older gentleman dropped. He smiles and does likewise when the opportunity presents itself. I don’t remember the product being advertised, but I do remember the smiles evoked by the acts of kindness and the message that kindness is contagious.

Kindness is different for Christians. It takes on a redemptive character, both in us and in the world around us. It could well be called “incarnational compassion.” We become the face and hands and feet and voice of Christ to others. Kindness becomes a calling card we extend on behalf of the kingdom of God, representative of the King Himself.

As believers, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Jesus (Col. 1:13). The distinctive and distinguishing behavior related by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount speaks to that transfer. We are different from those of the world. We are different from the most strident of religious types. Our allegiance is to Jesus Christ, an allegiance that flows from the inside out in a heart occupied by our Lord.

At the core of that sermon in Matthew 5–7 stands the model prayer our Lord taught to His disciples. That prayer bids us to beseech our Father for the advancement of His kingdom. At the chapter’s end, Jesus lays out the priority of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Kindness plays a special role in our prayer and practice as God’s instruments for kingdom advancement.

We labor in this world for the sake of Christ and the service of His kingdom. Kindness is one way for us to represent Christ to others, both believers and unbelievers. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, we are to let our light shine before others that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Perhaps they will take note of our behavior and ask us to give reason for the hope we have. But even if they do not, we will have still been able to bless them with deeds of kindness.

Jesus was a miracle worker. He turned water into wine, gave sight to the blind, and enabled the lame to walk. He even raised the dead. He performed these miracles not as a sideshow but to show the presence and nature of the redemptive kingdom.

From prison John the Baptist sent emissaries to Jesus, asking Him if He was the expected Messiah. Jesus replied by pointing to His message and miracles: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are

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