Day 67: The Kindness and Goodness of God.

Kind - of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person

Lovingkindness- tender kindness motivated by or expressing affection.

Affection - fond attachment, devotion, or love

Now that the vocabulary lesson is over. Let’s talk about the kindness of God. As we established yesterday, God is not some mean, evil, commanding, judgemental being. He is our father and He wants the best for us. God is the most loving and generous person in the entire universe. The kindest being that has ever and will ever exist. When we think about the kindest person we know, god is a hundred times kinder, When we think about the best thing the world has to offer, God is better.

Titus 3:4-6

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,  

Second thing to know: God is so good. In a sense of who He is, God is dripping with goodness. Nothing bad stems from Him, God cannot be the opposite of who He is. He will always be good.  

God cares so deeply for us, that we don’t have to do anything to receive His affection. He’s just like I love you, here’s a gift. God is constantly reminding us of His love. Throughout the bible we see how much He loves His people, even when He was angry, He could not stay angry. His want for a relationship with us, or compassion for us led us to be forgiven. We have to realize that God does more good than we can ever imagine, out of the kindness of His heart. There is a softness to God, like a dad, He is our dad and He treats us like we are His babies.. Every father I know, no matter how hard they seem or mean they look, they have a soft spot for their children, their kids will make them melt. That’s how God is with us, He has a soft spot for His children, He loves us so much that He cannot help Himself. And he’s constantly reminding us, through little gifts, signs, and wonders. It’s almost like he’s constantly whispering in our ear, “Hey. I love you.” everytime He gets our attention, “Hey, I love you.” He means  it, He really does. He sees us as His children, why can’t we truly see Him as a loving father?

Galatians 4:6

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[a] Father.”

Matthew 18:13

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Psalms 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

There is a sweetness in our relationship with God. We are His children, It is said that the Hebrew meaning of the word abba is, daddy or papa. Also that it is the sound a child makes when trying to say daddy. There is a sweetness there that breaks the barrier of punisher, servant or slave master, and turns it into daddy daughter, daddy son. These words are more intimate that father child. It establishes a relationship, and we start to see God as a dad. We do not fear Him in a sense that we afraid of what he will do to us, but we are in awe of Him, respecting Him. It’s like our earthly parents, we know them, others may not but we know how much they love us, we know how to approach them, we know when we can joke with them, we know when we can come and pour out our hearts to them, and cry on their shoulders. Our earthly parents run to pick us up when we fall, they teach us how to ride bikes, and navigate through life. They have a soft spot for us, that no matter how angry they get at us, they will always love us. We are not afraid of our earthly parents.

It’s the same with God, He wants to know us, He wants to pick us up when we fall, He wants to be a part of every second of our lives. But we have this image of Him in our heads that will not allow us to accept His lovingkindness. Why can’t we see the sweet sweet kindness of our Father, whom we can call daddy. Like a child. We run into His arms, not just when we’re hurt or in need but because we love our daddy so much.  

For many years I’ve heard Christians call themselves the army of God, we call ourselves soldiers for Christ. Obeying orders, and following commands. While I understand the concept when it comes to spiritual warfare, there's a problem I have with it. When I think about the army and the relationship a captain has with a soldier, I don’t think of intimacy. I cannot label it a sweet relationship. Viewing God as a sergeant or lieutenant shouting out orders and commands takes away from that lovingkindness. We become afraid of what will happen if we fail, or do not complete the order. We begin to look at Him as a punisher not an affectionate father.

Reflection

1. Is it hard for you to see and understand the kindness of God?
2. If we looked at God as our dad, how would it change the way we view Him?

Prayer Time

Talk to God about understanding and experiencing His kindness. Knowing that God is not an angry old man in heaven. Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Share this with someone and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 68!