THE GRACE OF KINDNESS

AND WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

The grace of kindness is the call that the Father called us to give our best for the sake of others. Knowing that we were called for this and also to imitate our Heavenly Father who first shows His kindness to us. Not because of our righteous act that we have done, but because of his grace. Receiving the good from our Father, the things that we actually don’t deserve to receive from Him.

THE MACEDONIA’S GRACE OF KINDNESS

The Macedonia and Achaia are those who understood this grace of kindness caught it in the spirit and acted upon it in the physical to other brethren (Rom. 15:25-26) “But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.” One of the New Testament command is that Christians display kindness toward other believers. See (Rom.12:9-13) “Let love be without hypocrisy, Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent  in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope , patience in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” From the Scripture we see the virtues that qualify one to show kindness is to have a genuine love and being righteous. It is only God who can command a wicked man to show kindness for a manifestation He want to show or for any other action. Avery effective way to demonstrate kindness beloved, is to contribute our time, talent or treasure to those in need. As Paul mentions, the Macedonia believers had done just this, gathering a love offering for the needy saints in Jerusalem. The apostle points to the kindly spirit of the Macedonian Christians as a model for others to imitate. Why are we commanded to exhibit such kindness? First we show kindness because of God’s wonderful kindness to us. David praises God for His marvelous kindness, see (Ps. 31:21) “Blessed be the Lord for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!” Second, by practicing kindness we give evidence of our new birth, see (James 1:26-27) “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Third, we will be the recipients of kindness from others, actually reaping from the crops we have previously sown, see (Luke 6:38) “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put to your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Finally. God uses our kindness as a model for others, as He did with the Macedonians.

A FREE WILLING GRACE OF KINDNESS

In another epistles the Macedonians continued to show the grace of kindness willingly to others as well  as to Apostle Paul too (2 Cor. 8:1-7) “Moreover brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we should receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering of the saints. And not only had we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything-in faith in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us-see that you abound in this grace also.”  The Macedonian church had kept in mind that all that they had and all that they were belong to God and He is the giver of all things.  And His blood has redeemed us to Himself (1 Cor. 6:19-20) “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  And he sternly warns thus to the (Rom. 6:13) “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” The same epistle on a different chapter he says (Rom. 12:1) “May our goal here on earth beloved, be to present our bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.” In order to fulfill God’s obligation for the grace of kindness. We have to live for God and our bodies we give Him as a living sacrifice, and then there will be no issue in the matter of kindness to our fellow brethren. We will be Christ like showing kindness and doing good wherever we go, every single day of our lives.

SHARING ALL THINGS IN COMMON THROUGH THE GRACE OF KINDNESS

When the Spirit of God indwelt in a person, then there will be no, “I, me and myself” but oneness, of one heart and one soul sharing all things equally. See (Acts 4:31-36) “And when they had prayed, the place where they had assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”  It’s my prayer that the Holy Spirit may be experienced mightily in our churches as was in the olden days making the place where they were assembled shook because of the glory of God and after the shaking: the boldness to speak the word of God with power, authority and zeal. (V.32-35) “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there any one among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” The grace was sufficient for the act of kindness to dominate in the midst of the apostles and their followers. The distribution of the things that they needed was done diligently and equally as one had need. Even some went at the extent of selling their lands and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet (V. 36) “And Jose who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated the son of Encouragement), a Levite of the Country of Cyprus, having land sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” If I do a research in the body of Christ today, us believers though born again and Spirit filled, yet this factor of love and kindness is a miss. And one may ask, “The Spirit that filled the Apostles and the Spirit that indwell in the Christians today, “Are they different?” Certainly not! Because many of the believers today are self-centered; and the spirit of Me, I and myself is the order of the day. May the Lord help us beloved!

ZIBA’S GRACE OF KINDNESS TO KING DAVID

Ziba the servant of Saul show king David grace of kindness when he was fleeing from his son Absalom who took over his father’s kingdom (2 Sam. 15:1-6) “After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. Now Absalom would rise up early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a law suit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And he would say, “Your servant is from such and such a tribe in Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.” Moreover Absalom would say, “Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.” And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” This was a wicked son who wanted to turn over his father’s kingdom to himself. But this beloved happened because of the divine law of sawing and reaping; What David did to Uriah the Hittite, the seed did germinate and he had to reap from it. Reference: (2 Sam. 11:1-12:23). The king did fled (2 Sam. 15:13-14) “Now a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and struck the city with the edge of the sword.”

The story is quite long, so to cut it short or to brief it (2 Sam. 16:1-4) “When David was a little past the top of the mountain, there was Ziba the servant of Mephiboseth, who met him with a saddled donkeys, and on them two hundred loaves, of bread, one hundred raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, “What do you mean to do with these?” So Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and the summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine are for those who are faint in the wilderness to drink.” Then the kind said, “And where is your master’s son? And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, “Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom back to me.’” So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephiboseth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O King.”

I close with apostle Peter’s words: (1 Peter. 3:8-9; 12-13) “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this that you may inherit a blessing; for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?”

“Grace to you and Favor from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen and Amen and Amen.”