The mercy and grace of God is visible all over the world and whatever was necessary for life on earth has already been provided by Him. An even greater work He has done through His Son, so that the light of His glory may shine in us, the vessels broken due to sin. This blessing, He has decreed for the wicked and the righteous alike, so that all could turn to Him in repentance and be forgiven.
Reconciliation of our sinful lives and God’s kindness – King David was the youngest son of Jesse and left to tend to the sheep, the lowliest job, with no hope of any great inheritance. But God had a different plan for him, and anointed him as king of Israel after Saul, who failed to live up to the desired standards of God. First as a shepherd and after that as a giant killer, while trying to save his life from Saul and later as a king, he had many enemies both within the Israelites as also in the surrounding region. He identified himself as a sheep of God, his Shepherd and then declared, ‘You (God) prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over’ (Psalm 23:5). He had been saved from difficult situations and He could look back and see God’s hand of love in that.
We, like sheep, are unable to care for ourselves or find our way home and need help. But the worst that we can do is; first, to be unaware of being lost; second, to feel self-sufficient and sure of our own good capabilities; and third, to reject the hand of help that reaches out to rescue. With that we not only harm ourselves but cause deep hurt and anguish to the One who knows our state and wants to help. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s only command by rejecting all the great delicacies set up before them, by God, in the Garden of Eden. Forbidden was the poison that would bring death and separation from God, the Provider. But God, knowing everything, still came looking for them at the scheduled place and time, after their disobedience. Not finding them at the decreed place of meeting, He called out, ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3:9-10). We, being in God’s image and likeness, have feelings and emotions and are hurt. God, who is love, must have felt great pain and anguish to hear Adam say, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself’.
God who formed us, knows more about us then we will ever, yet we try to hide from that loving, All-knowing God. God still kept a channel open for mankind to meet Him at a specified place, where Cain and Abel reached with their offerings (Genesis 4:3-4). Cain also brought an offering but not the choice part or the best he could. We desire the kindness of God in abundance without even realising its real purpose and meaning. A child asks his mother to get him an ice-cream, which she gives. Since they are in the market area, after a while he sees another vendor and he seeks another one with a different flavour. Probably his mother will get that also, but when he asks for the third ice-cream, will she get him that? The reason is for his own good, for she knows he must eat a balanced diet. In like manner, when God our loving Father does not give us what we ask, for He knows the consequences of that, but we, like the child, start crying and complaining.
God desires to have a personal relationship with everyone and in the Garden of Eden, visited Adam in the evening (Genesis 3:8). In spite of that He felt the loneliness of Adam and created a ‘suitable partner for him’, the woman. But that did not reduce or stop their need for fellowship with God. Within a time-span of just 1056 years from Adam being created, the moral degradation of mankind was so severe ‘that every intent of the thoughts of his (every man’s) heart was evil only continually’ (Genesis 6:5-8). God was so grieved by this that He decided to destroy everything from the face of the earth’. But in all this, ‘Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD’ and received kindness from Him.
At Mount Sinai, when God appeared and the people saw, ‘the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking’, filled with fear, they ‘trembled and stood afar’ (Exodus 20:18-20). Then, they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’. This was another occasion for God to feel the pain of not being understood by His chosen people. All attempts of God failed to get the people to turn to Him in love and the messages of the Prophets were also largely rejected.
Finally, God sent His Son, Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal the love of God to mankind, though He knew beforehand about the rejection and pain that awaited Him on the earth. From the cross, the cry of anguish of the Messiah on feeling spiritual separation from God, the Father, was another time that God was pained. Lord Jesus told the disciples about the work of the devil, to steal, and to kill, and to destroy’ (John 10:10). It was the devil’s work that brought sin and deceitfully stole the dominion rights, destroyed mankind’s close relationship with the LORD God and caused their death; both spiritually and physically. But Lord Jesus’ work brought ‘life, and that they (all believers) may have it more abundantly’. Spiritual death was removed and we could not only have a close relationship with God, the Father, through prayer and worship, but also have the continuous presence of His Spirit in us.
God is kind and being in His image and likeness, His Spirit helps us bear fruit in His manner. The fruit of the Holy Spirit that we are supposed to bear is ‘love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ (Galatians 5:22-23). It is all about loving each other as our Lord has taught, forgiving, forgetting and moving on. We are given innumerable chances by God to repent, turn to Him and live and that is what we are supposed to do. We start living like Him and thus pleasing Him and be a blessing to others and be blessed.
Working of God’s kindness in our lives – An artist takes a piece of marble stone, works at it for some time and after giving it a final shape, is satisfied with His work. But after that he goes away and the shape that he had carved out of the piece of stone is left behind. It retains its shape and style, though the ownership has changed. Likewise, when we use our strength to throw a stone into the air, it seems to become a flying stone. But the moment the force used by you in throwing is used up, the stone falls to the ground and becomes stationary as it was before. It does not continue to fly on, for a long time or unlimited time. When God started the creation process, there was nothing in existence, for the earth was ‘without form and void’ (Genesis 1:2 ). God created everything from nothing by using the might of His Divine power. But when that nothing is given a form and shape, what will be the state of that mass after God has finished and let go. Since the shape and form to that nothingness was given by God, what will happen to it after He turns away from it. God’s hand was holding it together and once that is withdrawn, it will return to its previous state of nothingness. Because the power of God has brought it into being and is holding it, the moment that gets withdrawn, it will all become nothing and vanish.
We see a laser show being organised, where an image of something is created and we enjoy watching that. But once the laser equipment is switched off, the image vanishes immediately. What will happen to all of creation, if the hand of God that releases power into it all, gets removed by God, it will all crumble and disappear. The kindness of God is this, that He continues to care for all of His creation, so that it may remain.Apostle Paul while teaching about the creation confirms this same fact. Lord Jesus Christ is ‘the image of the invisible God’, Son of the Most-High God (Colossians 1:15-17). ‘By Him all things were created’ for He is the Creator. And further that ‘All things were created through Him and for Him’ and finally, ‘in Him all things subsist’. This is God’s kindness that He sent His Son, as a human being, to set right the fallen nature of mankind and all of creation, knowing beforehand about His sufferings and crucifixion.
Moses was commanded by God to set up the procedure for Priestly blessings from His Temple. The priest would say, ‘The LORD bless you and keep you’ and the Hebrew word ‘shamar’ means to keep watch, protect and save (Numbers 6:24-25). God does it by His blessing to ‘make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you’. Moses assured the Israelites of God’s protection and provision, ‘He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you’ (Deuteronomy 31:8). Every believer has this promise fulfilled in the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. God’s presence ensures that our nothingness retains the form that He has given us, and rather get better, day by day. He has not walked away or turned His face away, though our heinous sins have always hurt Him. He is love and this is visible in all that we have been given.
After Noah’s flood, God made a covenant to never destroy it all with a flood, and the rainbow in the clouds is supposed to be a reminder to Him. Apostle Peter had been very close to the Saviour Lord but denied Him due to fear for His life. All the others had also fled and hid from fear of the Jews. But the Risen Lord had concern for them, to delay His ascension into heaven to meet Mary Magdalene, who was greatly anguished at the Tomb (John 20-13-17). She became the first person to meet Him and the first apostle to carry the message of His resurrection. She was told by the Lord, ‘go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’.
In the Gethsemane Park also, when the guards sought Him, our Lord told them, ‘I have told that I am He (whom you seek to arrest). Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way’ (John 18:8). He did not desire that any of the disciples be hurt in any manner. Apostle Peter has given the best example of our Lord’s kindness, to say, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (of judgement), as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9). God desires that every human being must use his communication skills to talk to and listen to Him and have a close relationship with Him and that is His kindness and love towards us.
Effect of God’s kindness on a believer – Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, learned the Scripture from Gamaliel, a renowned Rabbi and teacher of that time Philippians 3:5-8). But the love of God touched him in AD 36 and he was transformed and said, ‘I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord’. In all his Epistles, he has referred to himself as ‘bondservant of Christ Jesus, called to be an Apostle’. The first letter to the Corinthians was written by him in AD 55-56, twenty years after His meeting the Lord. In this he referred to himself as ‘the least of the Apostles, who am not worthy to be called an Apostle’ (1 Corinthians 15:9). He is believed to have been martyred in AD 64-67 (probably AD 66) and this letter was written about ten years before that. Then in his Epistle to the Ephesians, in AD 60, six years before his martyrdom, he called himself, ‘less than the least of all the saints’ (Ephesians 3:8). He continued to downgrade himself in humility as compared to other believers. In AD 64-65, he wrote to Timothy, his spiritual son, ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief’ (1 Timothy 1:15). This was probably a year or so before his death and he considered himself the worst sinner who was saved by the kindness and mercy of Lord Jesus.
When the loving hand of the Lord touches anyone, transformation from within starts. God, the Father, revealed His glory in His Son, who ‘is the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15). John 17:22 Lord Jesus prayerfully declared to the Father in heaven, ‘The glory which You have given Me I have given them’ (John 17:22) – This is the glory of the Second Adam. With this as believers, we behold ‘as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we turn to the Lord through Scripture study, prayer and the Holy Spirit in us, in our words and deeds, the way of life, we begin to look more like Him. This is a continuous process here on earth of transformation of being more glorious, our attention being focused on the source of all glory.
With the touch of God’s kindness, we become less and less self-centred and more God-centred and others-centred. From God we receive the fullness of His love and that overflows to others, bringing them also into the light of the same glory. It is the kindness and mercy of our Lord, who healed all who were brought to Him (Matthew 14:14). Our Lord chose us, not because we were good, but despite our sins and made us ‘a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light’ (1 Peter 2:9). This is the kindness of God and this must also be the result of that in our lives.
When we stop remembering the great gifts of God’s love and kindness for us, over time, these become something that we have a right to receive. However, there is no end to His kindness, nor lack thereof, but to receive and keep receiving abundantly in fullness, one has to submit and surrender. It must always be remembered that the flow is from top to a lower level and never otherwise. Those who are humble are lifted up by His grace and mercy!
