Have you considered how kind God is being to you right now? No matter what your life looks like, even with or without the certainty of a job, money, a home, family, or friends, God has and is blessing you.
Really, take a few moments and think about the ways God is being kind to you and your family this very morning. At the least you can come up with things like the breath that you are breathing, the clothes that you are wearing, or the ability you have to read this article.
Then also let your mind drift to the array of beautiful fall colors surrounding you. All nice sights, smells, tastes, and touches you enjoy are evidences of God’s kind mercy to you. You don’t deserve any of them.
As you let your mind consider the different ways he is showing you his goodness, consider also your response to his blessings.
As the creator, God can place any demands upon his creatures that he wants to. He established laws to reveal his righteous standards for all to obey. It is not enough that we offer lip service to his commandments; we are obligated to obey them all from our hearts.
God is morally separate from his creation and completely pure. He calls his creatures to be as holy as he is. Unfortunately, we all sin and fall short of his glorious standard (Romans 3:23).
We sin by violating his commands in our thoughts. Jesus said that lust and anger in our hearts are as wicked as adultery and murder (Matthew 5:21-29).
We sin by harboring bad attitudes. A wrong attitude is a string of sinful thoughts in a row. Last week in the church parking lots of our county, how many people were smiling on the outside, but seething on the inside? This is sin.
We sin by the words that fly out of our mouths. Jesus said that the mouth speaks out of that which fills our hearts (Matthew 12:34). Anyone can smile and control their mouths when the pastor is in the room, but what kinds of things come out of your mouth when a sudden crisis hits?
When you are mad at your boss, your spouse, or your kids, what kinds of things do you say? When the hammer hits your thumb or when the unexpected credit card bill hits your bank account, what flows from between your lips? The Lord himself said that we condemn ourselves simply by the idle words that we utter (Matthew 12:36-37).
Our blatant acts of wickedness are also sinful. Sin is like a pipeline from deep within our hearts, which continually spews raw sewage. It runs from our motives, through our thoughts, into our attitudes, and sprays out into the world in wicked words and dirty deeds.
So what do God’s perfect standards and our wicked response to them have to do with God’s kindness? Actually, there is a very important connection. Think about how kind it is that God is not giving you what you deserve right now.
Isn’t the fact that Holy God does not breathe fire upon you this very instant is proof positive that he is kind? God is so pure and just, your first inkling of sin against him carried enough guilt to send you to hell for all of eternity. How many sins have you added on since your first one? Are you still reading this article? Thank God for his kindness!
God’s kindness is not only demonstrated in his postponing your judgment. He also pours all of those positive blessings out upon his undeserving creatures. Do you enjoy sunsets? Have you had a good meal this week? Do you like to hold new little babies? All of these precious blessings find their origin in the kind heart of God.
God does not owe the farmers rain to grow their crops. He does not owe parents the privilege of holding sweet little babies. He is under no obligation to make the grass green, the sky blue, and the sunsets all shades of red, orange, and purple. He only owes us wrath; everything we enjoy in this life are gifts of his kindness.
His kindness is further displayed in the offer of forgiveness in his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s great lovingkindness sent God the Son to take a human nature in addition to his divine nature. He perfectly obeyed all of the laws that you and I violate. He died as a substitute for sinners on the cross, and then rose again on the third day.
God offers the great exchange of all of your sin and the wrath you deserve for all of Christ’s righteousness and the blessings he deserves. The offer is open to anyone and everyone who will turn from their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing is more than believing the facts in your mind; it trusts the person from your heart.
God’s kind offer extends to you this very day.
This is the right response to the Lord’s rich kindness. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
When someone does something nice for one of my kids, I teach them to say, “Thank you,” or even write a thank you note. As you consider God’s rich kindness shown towards you personally, how will you respond? Will you continue to take his love for granted? Will you assume you deserve God’s good blessings? Or will you humble your heart, confess your pride, and go to Jesus for his excellent mercy today?
By John Crotts
