In Jesus Holy Name October 3, 2021
Text: Ephesians 4:32
“A Fruit Called Kindness”
They sat on opposite sides of the room, a man and a woman, bidding on an adorable puppy at a school auction. Others dropped off, but not this duo. Back and forth until they’d one-upped the bid to several thousand dollars. This was like the Wimbledon finals, and neither player was backing off the net! Finally the fellow gave in and didn’t return the bid. Going once, going twice, going three times. Sold!
You know what she did? Amidst the applause, she walked across the room and presented the puppy to the competition. (Max Lucado “A Love Worth Giving” p.29)
Suppose you demonstrated the same kindness to those you are having difficulty with. Suppose you surprised them with kindness? Not easy? No, it’s not. But mercy is the deepest gesture of kindness. Paul equates the two in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Kindness should be displayed in the life of a Christian which is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. How kind are you? When was the last time you did something kind for someone in your family, got a blanket, cleaned off the table, loaded the dishwasher, prepared coffee without being asked? Maybe you let a stressed out mother with three children in the grocery store go in front of you.
Acts of kindness are gifts you give to others because Jesus has been kind to you. David wrote in Psalm 63:3 “Your lovingkindness is better than life”. Jesus left a message for his disciples in all centuries. “Let the little children come to me.”
Please note what Jesus did not say: "Tolerate the little children.." or "Put up with little children" or "Don't get angry with the little children who are coming to Me." Are you surprised? Of course you're not! Jesus would never say something as cold and callous as: "Tolerate or put up with the little children." His act of kindness changed the culture and our world.
The culture in the 1st century did not always respect children. Society merely
tolerated them. Maybe it is still the same in places like the Middle East or India or China that still has a one child policy, where girls are less valued.
Remember, survival for a youngster in the ancient world could be problematic. The Greeks and Romans would place their unwanted children alongside the road so nature might take its course. Or maybe some family might raise them in order to be slaves in a different household. Christianity changes the value of children, even in the womb.
You can see just how exceptional Jesus was. His statement is exceptional. He told His disciples to welcome little children. This is an act of kindness. "Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not get in. "Exactly what does that mean?
Apparently Jesus wants us to figure out what quality our children possess that is so critical for entrance into heaven. "What do children have that we don't have when it comes to being part of the kingdom of God?"
This past week I searched commentaries but did not fine much help. One writer suggested: Children have a way of believing everything you say and believing it as fact. The currency of the kingdom of heaven is faith. Jesus is telling us, “have faith like a child". I think it is a good point.
One day several years ago, Max Lucado was out walking with his daughter. He asked if she knew where she was going and she said no. He asked if that scared her and she said “of course not – you are with me”. That is trust. The daughter knows her father loves her and will not let harm come to her. Jesus is asking us to have that kind of trust and faith as we walk with Him.
Kent Hunter in his book “Who Broke My Church” wrote: “salvation occurs by grace, through faith. Faith is a gift from God. Faith is trusting Jesus. Just because it’s a free gift to you does not mean it has no cost. It cost Jesus his life.
When I see Jesus Christ dying, the nails in His hands, the spikes through His feet, and the crown of thorns on His brow—when I see Christ suffering and dying—I see the love of God on display being poured out for our salvation. This is love, (“agape”, selfless love) that God has chosen to justify us by faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. A gift of the Holy Spirit.
“Your acceptance before God is not a question of your efforts at being good, patient, kind, gentle, etc. or how well you did this week, how much you read the bible or prayed or resisted temptation. Your acceptance is always a question of what Jesus Christ has done for you. It is through His shed blood on the cross that you have made your peace with God. “ (Sweet, Jesus Speaks p. 102)
Robert Fulghum wrote a book titled: “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” This book was his way of sharing all that he thought we would need to live by in order to be happy and successful in life. He says:
• Share everything • Play fair. • Don’t hit people.
• Put things back where you found them. • Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours. • Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Be kind to others.
Leonard Sweet wrote: “When I was pursuing my degrees, knowledge was everything, now that I am a learner, I have come to realize that kindness is everything.” The brother of Jesus wrote: “What good is it my brothers if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? … faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” James 2:14,17) Kindness is a good deed offered to another.
Kindness is one of the “fruits” of the Holy Spirit. (Read Galatians 5:22-23) Paul tells us that these kinds of character traits are possible only if “we keep in step with the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes we Lutherans over emphasis that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace by faith but we forget to talk about our responsibility to be partners with God by imitating Jesus in our everyday lives. Kindness, compassion, goodness, joy, love, patience are possible when we “keep in step with the Holy Spirit.”
But as a follower of Jesus you and I have the responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and do the good deeds, demonstrate acts of kindness that Jesus wants done.
The Bible teaches us that God is in three Persons. God is One, but He is manifested in three Persons. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Don’t ask me to explain it—I can’t. It’s impossible for me to explain to you the Holy Trinity. I accept it by faith. God the Father; God the Son, who is equal with the Father in every respect; God the Holy Spirit, who is equal with the Son and with the Father in every respect. (Billy Graham Decision Magazine October 2011)
In the Gospel of John Jesus told the disciples what the Holy Spirit would do. Jesus told them that the Holy Spirit will enable the disciples to remember everything He said and taught. The Holy Spirit would lead them in all truth. (John 14:26) Another work of the Holy Spirit is to convict men and women of sin. He makes you feel uncomfortable. He pricks your conscience. (John 16:7-8)
It is the Holy Spirit that gives faith to each believer, through the words of the gospel. He enables each believer to know and experience the “forgiveness of sins.” And it is He who will raise us to eternal life, just as He raised Jesus from the dead. (Acts 2:24; I Peter 3:18: Romans 8:11)
The Holy Spirit is the essence of God’s power and presence in the world. The Holy Spirit accomplished God’s purpose thru Jesus. His miracles proclaimed God’s power. Jesus told his disciples: “It is better for you that I go away.” Why would Jesus make such a statement? He knew the future. He knew His destiny was the cross. He knew the Day of Pentecost would come. Jesus who had been physically with the disciples was going to be inside them by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Leonard Sweet Jesus Speaks p. 82)
In the Lord’s Prayer, each week we pray this petition: “may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How does that become reality? Through you and me as we demonstrate acts of patience, kindness and do good deeds. Jesus rescued women from prostitution, whether it be Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman at the well, or the woman caught in adultery. Now that same rescue happens through Breaking the Chains and similar ministries that rescue children from child trafficking.
The Galatian Christians were beginning to “drift”. They were beginning to “drift” from the values and character traits of Jesus produced by the Holy Spirit.
They were drifting away from their “priorities”. Priorities are what you will always do first. Everyday you make hundreds of choices. Priorities are signposts of what is important to help you decide what you will do and what you will say. In Galatians 5:14 Paul reminds them of their priority: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And the second: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”.
Your priority is to keep in step with God’s Holy Spirit so that the “fruits of the Spirit” reach maturity in your life and mine.
The writer Dallas Willard of The Divine Conspiracy writes, “Practice routinely purposeful acts of kindness random acts of kindness put a smile on a person’s face. But routinely purposeful acts of kindness change lives. Every interaction is an opportunity to smile, make eye contact, shake a hand, give a hug, listen to how someone’s day has been going. How many relationships in our families, communities, churches, and workplaces would be improved if we stopped what we were doing, put down the remote, put down the phone, and said, with kindness, hello. How’s your day? And really listened.
The goal of our kindness is not so that they will be kind to us, but so that we will be like Christ. The joy is in the act of kindness itself.
