“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?“ (Romans 2:4, NIV)
Thirty-one days of kindness is waning. I’m not sure how long it takes to form a habit – I’ve read anywhere from 21 to 66 days. Nevertheless, this month I’ve gotten into the practice of looking for kind gestures to perform. Some days were more successful than others.
But the whole point of our emphasis hasn’t been the kind deeds themselves (though important) – it was the looking. It was asking God: who, Lord? What, Lord? The essential element was getting our eyes off ourselves, even for a moment, and thinking about serving others.
Hopefully for us, through this exercise, kindness becomes a lifestyle…habitual…the norm.
Of course, that describes God to a “T”. Paul tells us that in Romans 2:4. God wasn’t just kind once when he sent Jesus to die for our sins. He’s always kind – rich in kindness. God’s many kind gestures, his continued tolerance of our foolishness, his ongoing patience with our mistakes were SO OVERWHELMING, it led us to him. God’s kindness opened the door to his throne room.
Wouldn’t it be great to hear someone, someday, say that about your kind deed for them: “It opened the door and led me to God!”
#thirtyonedaysofkindness – only one week left. Finish strong! Email me your stories!
