Kindness

 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins In which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV).

 

There is no shortage of the contrast between kindness and not. In fact, just in the last week we were given a full dose of both the kindness of men and the unkindness of men. I heard one media personality quote the well-known comment from Plato, as she said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” I have often read of playwright Douglas Jerrold (1803-1857) as he was described as a man so kind that “he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain.” Our reading today describes the ultimate kindness which has been shown toward man.

 

In the midst of his letter, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness … not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” We have all lost hard battles with sin. But Christ’s umbrella is cross-shaped, protecting us from a deluge of God’s just wrath. God, our Father, is kind beyond measure so that “…he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

 

Lent is a good time to reflect on God’s kindness as well as being very intention about showing kindness toward others.