By Hannah Tang and Alice Lock
Most people have no problem believing that God is great. Jesus came to reveal not only God’s greatness but also God’s kindness, with a salvation plan beyond our human imagination.
Jesus – who healed blind Bartimaeus begging on the roadside, delivered the daughter of a foreign woman from demon possession, fed hungry crowds, healed lepers, befriended sinners – demonstrated God’s power and compassion to those he met, including the socially discriminated.
One Sabbath, while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, he healed a disabled woman. The religious leaders were upset because they felt he had broken one of their Sabbath rules. Jesus’ reply put them to shame because their religious piousness had hindered them from understanding God’s heart and showing compassion to the needy.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.
Titus 3:4
Jesus also showed them that God’s desire was not just to heal but to restore the identity and freedom of His children. When we have God’s compassion, we will see people the way God sees.
Kindness is one of God’s distinguished characteristics. It is an essential part of God’s nature. Like love, God does not limit His kindness to only people who deserve it. God’s kindness is extended to the unworthy, the ungrateful, the selfish.
God’s personal kindness just for you
Recently, a friend asked an interesting question, “We know what it looks like to enjoy our relationship with God, but how do we know if God is enjoying our relationship with Him?”
There is no doubt that we are precious to God and He takes delight in us. There are more than 87 verses in the Bible that talk about God taking delight in us. Yet, I understood what my friend was asking. She was looking for a tangible confirmation of the relationship we have with God.
If we pay closer attention, we can find daily doses of God’s goodness and kindness in our lives. The simple pleasures in life are evidence of God’s personal kindness towards us.
I believe that God knows my love for coffee, and He created all the different types of coffee beans for my tasting pleasure. For those who love food, there are countless varieties of food with every combination of flavours that you could savour. For the nature lovers, on top of the limitless species of plants and animals roaming the earth, new species are still being discovered today for our enjoyment.
If everything God does is purposeful and intentional, then the things He created cannot be random. God created every one of us and He knows us intimately. I believe He has intended the specific things He designed in His Creation for each of us. That’s God taking delight in us!
Very often, we are too distracted with our life to notice God’s goodness and kindness. To experience a tangible relationship with God, we need to carve out time to reflect and count our blessings. Only then will we see God’s fingerprints in every part of our live.
Read and Reflect
- How can we extend God’s kindness to all, especially to those who we feel may not deserve it?
- How can we experience more of God’s kindness in our lives?
Read with your child
Do you know of a kind person? Why is he or she kind? Is it because this person brings you out for ice cream, or buys your favourite toys when you are well-behaved? God is also kind and compassionate to everyone he meets. In the Bible, He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He showed his loving kindness to us by sending his son Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sins – because we are all His precious children.
How can you show God’s kindness to others today?
