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Be Kind

Luke 6:35-36
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

Jesus truly is radical. Just read the verse again and seek to comprehend what He is saying.

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return;

and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.

For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Love your enemies? (Really Lord? Don’t you know what they have done to me? You hear little of this on American news programs.)

Do good and expect nothing in return? (Hear little of this in church. Aren’t we to sow in good soil and expect great returns?)

Why do this?

Because the ‘Most High” God is this way.

For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Jesus says we are to be kind because that is how God is.

It may be easy to be kind to kind people. But here Jesus says we are to be kind to the:

Unthankful and Evil!

Now this is a true test of a follower of Jesus.

Are you kind to people in traffic?

Are you kind to a waitress that is late to your table or late with your meal?

Are you kind to your neighbor whose dog digs up your newly planted flowers?

Are you kind to the phone operator when you call to complain about a faulty order or problem?

Are you kind to the person who is living a life of evil and sin?

Are you kind to your boss that is unthankful and evil?

Are you kind to people whose political opinions offend you?

I hear or read little of kindness and mercy in our world today be it secular or religious. Often the most unkind are the religious.

The Greek work for Kindness is:

chrestos ^5543^ primarily signifies “fit for use, able to be used” (akin to chraomai, “to use”),

hence, “good, virtuous, mild, pleasant” (in contrast to what is hard, harsh, sharp, bitter).

It is said (a) of the character of God as “kind, gracious,” ; “good,” , where the neuter of the adjective is used as a noun,

(from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

My prayer is that I may be

“good, virtuous, mild, pleasant”

and not

“hard, harsh, sharp, bitter.”

Ephesians 4:32

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

just as God in Christ forgave you.

1 Peter 2:3

If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious (Kind).

“Lord Jesus, take out my ‘hard, harsh, sharp, bitter’ words and spirit and fill me with ‘kindness and mercy’ that I may be a true follower of You, My Lord and My God”.

Pilgrim followers of Jesus,

Arthur and Denise Blessitt

Luke 18:1