Be Kind
Updated: Oct 5
My Daughter, Take My Hand, to be Kind
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is…kindness…. Against such there is no law.
Proverbs 19:22 What is desired in a man is kindness,
Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
Isaiah 54:10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Titus 3:4-6 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,
Ephesians 4:30-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Psalm 103:2-4 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
Thank You Heavenly Father
Your love, the love of Jesus Christ and the power of Your Holy Spirit will always enable me to be kind.
In some verses we have just mentioned, you will see the words kindness and mercy mentioned together. Even though they are connected, they are also very different.
Jesus Christ showed the greatest acts of mercy and kindness at the cross. While you were dead in sin, in His mercy, you were made alive in Christ through His forgiveness and healing. In His kindness, His forgiveness and healing was offered freely to everyone.
There will be times you will show kindness and other times you will extend mercy.
You show kindness to another person when you are friendly, generous or when you meet a need in someone’s life that comes from the goodness of your heart not, out of obligation.
Mercy, on the other hand, is choosing to forgive and release others from any wrongs done to you or others. You can also extend mercy when you help those who are in need and have not asked for help.
Acts of kindness and mercy are necessary in our relationships with others and, as importantly, toward ourselves.
A great act of kindness and mercy you can extend toward someone or yourself is prayer. You may not know what they need or want, but God does.
Years ago, there was a popular saying that was imprinted on bracelets. It was “What would Jesus do?”
Many people wore this as an adornment never stopping to think how they could apply it to their lives.
As you grow in your relationship with Jesus, my dear Daughter, He will show you the value of showing kindness and mercy to others and yourself.
When you value the wisdom of this saying, you will think of what Jesus would do or want for the other person or yourself. You will then obey.
When you do this, you are doing exactly what Jesus did when He went to the cross. It is called sacrifice.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, you can embrace the kindness of Jesus for yourself and then extend His kindness to those in need.
Read Ephesians 2:4-7 with a heart full of gratitude, my dear Daughter, for the kindness and mercy Jesus has already given you:
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
All scripture above taken from NKJV. See Scripture Acknowledgements page