1 Corinthians 13:4, Charity Is Kind (2)

1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind …

Jesus taught His disciples “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This teaching of benevolence is the outworking of this character of kindness. How is it that when we give, we lose something that we have given away and yet we are more blessed? This truth has to be understood by faith. I believe this is true and therefore I do as instructed and experience God’s greater blessing. This is a perspective that is beyond the carnal mind. It can be understood only in the context of God’s supernatural love, as it was injected into our blood stream, enabling us to give sacrificially and unconditionally. We are in our natural self, self-seeking and self-satisfying. This change is the power of the gospel experienced when the believer put to death the old man and put on the new man.

When the chief tax-collector Zacchaeus met Jesus and repented of his sins, he said to his Lord in Luke 19:8 “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” He showed kindness to the poor and he was willing to make restitution for anyone he has wronged. This is the disposition of a God-fearer, one who is fully aware of his utter unworthiness and sinfulness and how he has been forgiven much and therefore he is able to forgive much also.

Have you truly experienced God’s forgiveness for your sins? This is the most important question that one can be asked to any man in his lifetime. If we have not experienced God’s love and His forgiveness for our sins, we cannot truly appreciate the truth of showing kindness, favour and forgiveness to someone who does not deserve kindness. If you have been struggling with some sin in your life and you realised that God is confronting you to forsake your sin, do not hesitate but turn to Jesus today and turn away from your sin. Only Jesus has the power to forgive your sins because He is God. Simply cry out to Jesus – “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!” Experience the forgiveness of your sins by the blood of Jesus shed for you at the cross for the cleansing of your sins. This is the first step to learning God’s kindness to sinners such as us. Pray that the Lord will use us as His unworthy vessel to show kindness to someone today and every day. Amen.