“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…” (Gal. 5:22)
During the next two weeks, we will look at two complementary aspects of the fruit of the Spirit: kindness and goodness. “Without kindness, goodness becomes harsh and self-righteous. Without goodness, kindness becomes indulgent tolerance” (Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit). As we look at the definitions of these two words and dive into how they are revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and how the Holy Spirit expresses them through us today, we will understand the distinction in more detail.
Kindness
The Greek word for “kindness” used in Galatians 5:22 is chrestotes, which means “goodness, excellence, uprightness” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). The word chrestotes means “tender concern for others.” It “has nothing to do with weakness or lack of conviction,” but rather is “the genuine desire of a believer to treat others gently, just as the Lord treats him” (John F. MacArthur, The MacArthur Nest Testament Commentary Galatians). Chrestotes is the “grace which pervades the whole nature, mellowing all which would be harsh and austere;” in classic terms, it denotes a “tender heart and a nurturing spirit” (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament).
God, Our Nurturing Father
We see a glimpse of God’s kindness and tender, nuturing heart in how He deals with Hagar. Reading Genesis 16:1-25, we learn that Sarai (later Sarah), frustrated because of her barrenness, attempts to give her husband Abram (later Abraham) an heir through her maidservant, Hagar. However, once Hagar conceives, she despises Sarai who, in turn, mistreats Hagar to the point where the maidservant runs away. This is where we see God intervene and speak comfort to Hagar. An angel of the Lord promises that if Hagar will return to Sarai, the Lord will increase Hagar’s descendants so they would be too numerous to count (16:10). Although the child, Ishmael, would live in hostility with everyone (16:12), he would be a great nation.
Hagar responds to the Lord, honoring Him by one of His great names: “The God who sees me” (Gen. 16:13). It wouldn’t be the first time God would extend His kindness to Hagar and Ishmael. When Sarah finally conceives and becomes angry at Ishmael’s mocking, God instructs Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away (Gen. 21:1-21). Going without provision and being scared for her child’s life, Hagar’s cries are heard by the Lord, who instructs her to “Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation” (21:18).
Do you see how amazing God is here? He knows that it is through Isaac, not Ishmael, that He will establish His covenant, and yet - He cares for Hagar and Ishmael in a tender, nurturing way. When Hagar hides Ishmael under the bush in the wilderness and fears for his life, God sees and unleashes His loving kindness. He refreshes and restores both mother and child. In the place of an absent father, God vows to remain with Ishmael as he grows up. God responds as a divine parent and intervenes to care for His children.
God’s Kindness Toward His Children
Given God’s kind and tender heart for Ishmael, it is no surprise that His heart for His chosen people is incredibly tender. In Deuteronomy 7:6, God’s tenderness toward Israel is expressed this way: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.” Another beautiful portrait of God’s kindness toward His people is illustrated in Isaiah:
“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” (Isa. 49:14-16).
Did you catch that? A nursing mother is more likely to forget her child than God is to forget or forsake His dearly beloved children! He engraves us on the palms of His hands. The Hebrew word for “engraved” used in Isaiah 49:16 is chaqaq, which means “to hack.” It was the word used for the act of cutting or chiseling laws into tablets of stone. How interesting that God applies it to cutting His children’s names into the very palms of His hands, arguably the most tender place on the human body.
Zephaniah also shows us the picture of a kind and nurturing Father who comforts His children and quiets them with His love: “The Lord your God is with you, He is might to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” I love the expression “quiet you with His love.” For me, it stirs up the image of a scared or upset child being gathered into his/her parent’s arms and being held tightly, comforted by soothing words and knowing that “it’s ok, I’m here, I’ve got you.” As our Father, God longs to show us His kindness by holding us when we are fretting or fearful, quieting us with tender words of comfort, encouragement and love.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
Jesus, Our Tenderhearted Savior
We cannot talk about kindness without spending a bit of time looking at the person and life of Jesus Christ. His kindness is one of the many reasons He endured the cross! He longs to bestow it upon us, just as He exhibited kindness toward people with whom He came into contact as He walked upon the earth.
One area where we see Jesus’ tenderness is in His dealings with children. He likened children to being “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:1-9) and took children into His arms (Mark 9:36-37). He sternly warned that causing a child to sin was serious business, indicating it would be better “to have a large stone tied around his neck and be drowned in the sea” than to bear judgment for leading a child astray. In Matthew 19, we see children being brought to Christ so He could pray for them. Even though the disciples rebuked those who brought children, Jesus used the opportunity to display His kindness and tenderness, teaching His followers about the kingdom of heaven and blessing the children.
Christ also possessed tremendous tenderness toward Israel and desperately wanted to protect Israel from pain, persecution and separation (Psalm 91:1-4). He expressed kindness toward countless individuals, including His disciples, women, strangers, and sinners. His resurrection story is a perfect example of His tenderness toward His children. Look how He asks Mary why she is crying at the empty tomb, gently calling her by name when she assumes Him to be the gardener (John 20:1-18).
I think one of the reasons Jesus chose Mary to be the first witness of His resurrection was because they had been through a lot together. He had driven demons out of Mary (Mark 16:9), and she had witnessed His crucifixion and burial (Mark 15:40-41, 46-47). Mary owed Jesus her life and her sanity, and she was a devoted follower of her Deliverer. She must have been heartbroken when He died, simply missing her friend.
After His resurrection, Jesus also appeared to Thomas, who doubted accounts of His being risen and wanted to see things for himself. Jesus appeared to Thomas in a tender way, in a special appearance that seemed tailor-made for one individual (John 20:24-31). 1 Corinthians 15:7 also tells us that Christ appeared to his earthly brother, James, who up until that point hadn’t believed in Jesus (see John 7:1-5). Why would Jesus appear to a family member who didn’t support or believe in Him? Because He is tenderhearted and loved His brother!
In these three examples, we see that Christ appeared to those who needed Him most, and out of His kindness came belief.
Challenge
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4-7). As we see from this verse, God’s greatest kindness and greatest act of tenderness was giving His Son Jesus Christ to take our place on the cross and secure for us eternal life. According to Romans 2:4, this kindness should lead us to repentance.
Do you allow God to nurture you and express the tender love only He, as our perfect Father, can? Psalm 81:10 instructs us this way: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
Do you, in turn, take the kindness you have received from God and Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to express it through you to others? Are you tenderhearted and willing to nurture and care for others?
“And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…” (Col. 3:12)
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