KINDNESS AND COMPASSION

My understanding of life changed dramatically when I realized that the way to improving myself, to become a better person, was not to try harder to live more ethically, but to allow the Spirit of Christ to enter into my spirit and to live out his life through me. Surrender and openness to the Spirit of God in Christ, trusting in him, was the only way I could fulfill God’s purpose.

“Take on an entirely new way of life – a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (Eph.4:23,24. The Message)

Rather than trying to change the externals of life, by trying to become a better person, which is the way of moralism and legalism, the route of self-improvement and self-will, Christianity reveals that Christ has to make us new inside, in the attitude of our minds. Christ has to renew us from the inside, in our spirit, and transform us from the inside out. It is not a matter of trying to do better but of allowing Christ to reproduce his character through us. If we do this then our behavior, our actions, our motivations will be changed. We are being taught by Jesus through his Spirit how to think and how to behave. He teaches us about our speech, about our emotions, about our possessions, about our work, and about our relationships. We are to put on the character of God: kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love. We are to be imitators of God.

This, of course, is a lifelong process, which we call sanctification: being created “to be like God in righteousness and holiness.” It is a daily process of seeking to be indwelt by Christ and to be filled with the Spirit so that we may have the power to put off the old self and to put on the new self. We have to deal with anger, with being productive rather than being lazy, to be a giver rather than a taker, to be a contributor rather than a consumer, to be affirming rather than critical of others. This is a continual challenge to our self-centeredness. Often we will fail and fall back into old patterns of behavior and reactions. But we learn from them how to proceed in the future. We learn from our weaknesses and our need for forgiveness.

Christianity is about a relationship with God and with one another. So nurture those relationships. Don’t do anything to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. “Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.” (Eph.4:30 The Message) You can learn to love others from how God relates to you by looking at the example of Jesus. See how Christ loved you by suffering and dying in your place, to give all he had for you and your salvation. So live out his kindness and compassion to one another, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Kindness and compassion! Two of the biggest words in the Bible. Two of the biggest challenges to our human nature. They go against the culture of the world. They are polar opposites to the hardening of hearts and insensitivity of the self-centered. When we forget who we are, when we have amnesia about God and our dependency upon God, and our need of salvation, we lose kindness and compassion, our value and dignity. When Jesus comes into our lives we experience the kindness and compassion of God, and he can reproduce his character through us. We become capable of kindness and compassion to one another.