Titus 3:4-7 (NKJV)
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
So many times I have said “God is good”. Sometimes it is a reminder that even tho times are hard, God is still good. Even tho something not so great is happening to me, God is good. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says “good” means “of a favorable character or tendency”. That is how it registers in my mind. God’s character is good. It is who He is. God is good.
Lately, however, I have come to realize that God is not only good, He is also very kind. Merriam-Webster defines “kind” as “of a sympathetic or helpful nature”, or “forbearing”, or “of a kind to give pleasure or relief”. I see all of those in God for He is so kind to me. He is forbearing to the Nth degree. Recently He gave extra blessings and provisions beyond what I would have ever thought possible. That is what made me think about it.
Many times His kindness comes out of nowhere. It is unexpected. He just does something so totally awesome that I have to stop and recognize that THAT is God and He loves me and is showing me His love through His kindness. He may send a mechanic to help out – and after the car is fixed he says “no charge”. He may have someone do something kind for me that is totally unmerited and out of the blue. At times He sees me in my despair – crying out to Him and in His kindness He comforts and gives me a renewed perspective (thank you Holy Spirit). He really doesn’t have to do any of that. He could just inherently be good in character but never do anything for me. I’m sure you know some people like that. They are good people but they don’t expand their goodness into kindness.
But God, goes beyond being good…He is kind. We didn’t do anything to deserve His kindness. He could have been good and still perfectly right to let us die in our sin… for we deserve it. But He chose to be kind. He saw us in our helplessness and chose to help us. He “poured out on us abundantly”, saved us, and now calls us His children.
It makes me love Him more. His kindness shows an affection. It shows He loves us. He would still be good if he didn’t show kindness…. but He chose to draw us to Himself in a personal relationship… to bless us… to walk with us on the worst days… and sometimes show extra kindness in little everyday things. I hope you will stop and see how He is good and kind to you. How has He shown you His love and kindness this week? Savor it! Give Him credit for what He has done to preserve, protect, and provide for you. I am doing that today. What a GOOD and KIND God we have!