THE Fruit of the Spirit (5) Kindness
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December 06, 2009 |
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 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Kindness is the quality or state of being kind. But the spiritual meaning of kindness is somewhat closer to mercy. And the spiritual meaning of mercy is the heart to understand in the truth even those who cannot be understood at all by men and the heart that is able to forgive in the truth even those who cannot be forgiven by men like the Lord who suffered the cross for the sinners.
God shows compassion towards mankind with this kind of mercy. As written in the Bible, if God had no mercy and judged us simply according to His justice, nobody would be able to stand before Him (Psalm 130:3). But God forgave and accepted even those who can be neither forgiven nor accepted according to justice. That is why God gave the life of His one and only Son. God wants those who have become His children by believing in the Lord to cultivate their hearts with mercy. Now, let us delve into the characteristics of mercy in more detail.
First, a merciful person has no prejudice.
Worldly people too often judge people by their mere appearances. Their attitudes toward people change depending on what they see on the outside; whether or not they are rich, famous, or good-looking. God's children must not judge people by their appearances or change the attitudes of their heart based on outward appearances (James 2:1-4). Some people have physical disabilities, so they may speak or do some things that are different from the norm in certain situations. When you see these kinds of people, do you ever look down on them or want to avoid them to some extent? And when you see someone going through trials of faith, you should not talk about him or condemn him in any way. When people brought before Jesus a woman who had committed adultery, He said, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). When you see a person who is going through a tribulation, you should have a heart of mercy and compassion for him and hope that he will overcome the tribulation well.
Second, if we are merciful, we will have compassion on those who are going through difficult times and enjoy helping them.
If we truly have compassion for the other person, we won't just comfort him with our lips. We should offer him practical help (1 John 3:17-18). This is not just concerning material things. When we see somebody suffering from any kind of problem, we should want to be of some help to him and relieve that person of the pain. This is mercy.
I suffered from poverty myself, and I thoroughly experienced the pain of losing hope because of illnesses. Therefore I want to offer help and true comfort to those who suffer from these problems. Especially when I see those who do not believe in the Lord, I try my best to lead them to the way of salvation. Even though I cannot solve everyone's problems I am trying to manifest greater power of God so that people can meet and experience God and be saved. God will certainly pay you back with His blessings if you take on the heart of the Lord and care for those souls who are suffering.
Third, if we have mercy, we will not easily point our fingers at others.
Of course if we love somebody, we sometimes have to give advice to him or rebuke him. But, if you point out shortcomings within your self-righteousness or frameworks without love, this doesn't give forth life (Proverbs 12:18). When you have to give advice to someone because it is absolutely necessary, please do it out of love, thinking from that person's viewpoint and caring for him.
When church members ask me for critiques or advice, I do not answer too quickly. Why? For the time being, they may accept it with a thankful heart, but if they lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit, nobody knows what will happen in their heart. Sometimes, I have to point out something in order to accomplish the greater good for the kingdom of God, or to give someone a solution to his problem. But as I do so, I study carefully the expression on his face with a prayerful mind, hoping he will not be offended or discouraged.
Fourth, if we have mercy, we will be generous to everyone.
Jesus gave people unconditional love and opportunities to repent; even to Judas Iscariot, who eventually betrayed Him. Even when Jesus was being crucified, He prayed for those who were crucifying Him. "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." This is the mercy with which we can forgive even those who cannot be forgiven at all.
We should be able to accept and embrace others even though their personality and opinions are different from our own. If we think first from the other person's viewpoint, we can easily change our own thoughts and feelings. If we think, "Oh, I guess from his standpoint, that's the only way he could act," then, any feelings of negativity toward that person will leave us. As we cast away our self-righteousness and change our thoughts and feelings, we can accept and embrace any kind of person.
Fifth, if we have mercy, we can honor others.
When we have a merciful heart, if something is done well, we can give other people credit for it, and we can have the heart to accept the blame. When the other person receives all the recognition and receives more praise, even though we worked together with him, we can still rejoice with him, as if his joy was our own joy. We won't have any discomfort by thinking, "I did more work, and that person is being praised more, even though he has many shortcomings." A mother won't complain if she helped her child do something properly and she doesn't get any reward in return. If we have the fruit of mercy, we can put any other person ahead of us and attribute the merit to him, and this not being limited to our own children.
I hope all of you will bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit completely and please God in all things. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be overflowing with blessings and enjoy great honor in the kingdom of heaven as children who resemble God.
The above message is a summary of the sermon preached during Sunday evening service on November 8, 2009. If you want to read this sermon in more detail, visit our website (www. manmin. org) and click on "sermon."
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