A Little Bit Of Kindness
"But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
INSIGHT
It seems to be a contradiction to consider that gentleness carries more power than roughness. But one of the most powerful attributes of a human being is gentleness.
Gentleness represents an ability to prioritize people over all else. When tensions are high, we tend to move towards leveraging power to get what we want. It's easy to "win" arguments or any interaction if we take the power stance and use fear or cruel behavior. But the cost of winning is often the relationship.
Jesus modeled kindness, an introduction to one of the most counter-cultural ways to live in this world. He showed it was a powerful way to live. Jesus never leveraged fear or ruthless meanness to get His way. Not once did He try to win an argument for the sake of belittling others. Not once did He utilize His authority or power as God's Son to get His way. Jesus met people with kindness, and He kept it at the front of the relationship. Regardless of the response, there was a powerful kindness that directed His words and actions. Ultimately, the highest level of empathy was Jesus laying His life down for humanity. While the world decided the harshest way to kill Jesus, it would be His gentleness that changed humanity's course.
Think about when you made that decision to follow Jesus; it probably did not happen because someone yelled at you and told you the only alternative was eternal damnation. You can't be scared into a relationship with Him. Unfortunately, there have been those who attached the crippling power of fear to God, leaving a bad taste for many.
The Jesus we follow is One who leads with kindness. The Jesus we follow does not need fear to rule over people because He won us over in His kindness. Rather than extending a rod of punishment towards humanity, He extended His everlasting arms to hold us. We wrestle with this Jesus because we are familiar with a justice system that says punishment follows disobedience, yet with Jesus, our greatest disobedience collides with even greater grace. So we, as Christ-followers, extend the same reality to the world around us. We approach people with the gentleness of Jesus; we give ourselves to people.
Jesus generously gave His time, energy, effort, and value to those He did life with; and we show Jesus when we do the same. A simple hello, purchasing someone a coffee, or as big as you can think of, these acts give you a chance to give yourself away for the greater good of another. Every time you give of yourself, you give a little bit of Jesus, and it only takes one encounter for Jesus to save someone's life.
REFLECTION
Do you give yourself to others regularly?
What does it look like for kindness and gentleness to shape your response towards others?
PRAYER
Father, thank you for Your incredible display of kindness and gentleness towards me. You give only good things to Your children, and that all came to a peak with Your death and resurrection. Help me to live in the way of kindness and gentleness that You displayed. Let every chance I have to be kind be a chance to share Your good news with others. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Port City writer Davy Nance wrote today's devotional.
