Ephesians 2:7
“so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”.
God's kindness is a wonderful attribute that's often missed. His love and grace get the most attention. Here are some synonyms of kindness: forgivingness, good, goodness, mercifulness and mercy.
His kindness is rooted in love. He is kind because He loves. We respond to kindness. Most of our awareness of experiences with kindness is from people. Hopefully our parents are those who are first kind to us. They love us, so they are kind to us.
When I think back to my mother and her kindness I see her smiling face. She loved us, thought well of us, enjoyed us, wanted us to succeed and so on. All of this applies to God. He loves us, thinks well of us, enjoys us and wants us to succeed.
God wants to be in a relationship with us. He made a way for us by sending His Son to die for our sins. His next goal is for us to accept that forgiveness as our own and seek to connect with Him. The problem is we are in sin and we sense that something is wrong and that God is angry with us. Adam is a great example of this and he hid from God when he sensed His presence.
Romans 2:4 is an interesting verse, "Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?" Some try fear tactics to scare us in to turning to Him. There's a place for that. But it's His kindness. He loves us and wants to be a part of our lives.
The first evidence of God's love is creation, our design as people, happiness, relationships and so on. As we inventory all that makes us happy, we realize that's all from Him. Good friends, good food, success, joy in our hearts, good music and so on. We may not think of it, but He authors it all. His kindness wants to flood our lives with good things.
He also wants us to know that all of this bounty is from Him. People may go long periods of time without knowing this. Our secular society attempts to erase Him from our culture. But He won't remain hidden. Like a tidal wave can't be stopped, so His influence can't be drowned out. He will reach us.
Just as sculpting involves cutting, pressure and heat, so the Lord shapes and molds us by circumstances to bring us to Him and to mature us. Something might not feel kind, but it's the very thing that we need. If a house is on fire, the occupants restful sleep must be interrupted. God knows all and will use circumstances for our good. That's kindness.
Lord, thank You for Your kindness. You've done so much for us.