Sometimes kindness seems so hard. We are battling the heart of the world when we try to be kind. The world can be an ugly place that wants to make us ugly too. So when people just want to yell at each other and be so unkind how do we show the kindness of Christ? Well, we see what Christ did and we try to emulate it.
When I think about Jesus being kind there are so many stories that come to mind. But, on particular encounter seems to really solidify his kindness in my heart. And, it gives me a great example of how to live out kindness on the daily.
If we look in John 8:3-11 we find a very familiar story. Jesus is in the town square and the experts bring a woman to him.
"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
What a beautiful picture of kindness there. This woman is so humiliated, and Jesus deals with her so lovingly. That's really what the root of kindness is: love. I hope that as we have been going through this series on the fruits of the spirit that you can see just how it's all connected through love. Without love it's all meaningless. Isn't that what Paul tells us in Corinthians 13?
So how is Jesus kind to this woman? He sees her. That's the first step. He sees her. Not what the teachers and experts wanted to show him, but he saw her. And when Jesus really looks at this woman he sees and he sees her pain.
Jesus stoops down and writes in the sand two different times actually. We don't get to know what he's writing, but maybe that's the point. He could have been writing out the very sins I struggle with. He could have been writing names or sins or the greatest commandment which is to love. I have wondered if he was writing the law of Moses so that those men who brought this woman to Jesus might consider which laws they had broken and what the consequences of that might be. No matter what he wrote the result was still the same... everyone left that place except for Jesus and his woman.
Then and only then does Jesus address her sin. He asks her if anyone condemns her. She has to reply no on because there is no one left but the two of them. Finally, Jesus addresses her sin. He says he did not condemn her and she could go now and leave her life of sin. He gave her a different path to lead. He gave her a new life to choose. He set her free.
I often think about students I've had in the past. Those students that no one else wanted to teach. They were not the best students and they probably had a lot of stuff going on in their lives and would lash out at teachers. That kind of student tends to become and example in class. The teacher will say, "See what happens when you don't listen?" Or, after this kind of student doesn't turn in their homework the teacher might say, "Did everyone else hear me say it was due today?" I have to admit, I've been that teacher. I thought I was doing some good. But, I think now, looking back, I was just being unkind. I wanted to show that I was in charge and in control of the situation. The only thing I think I accomplished was hurting whatever relationship I could have built with that child.
Jesus is so kind to this woman. He addresses her sin just between the two of them. He sees her as more than just an adulterous woman. He sees her as more than just a woman, but rather as a child of God. We don't have to address someone else' sin or offense against us in some public forum. We do it kindly in love just between the two of us. That's an area that I struggle with as a mom every day. I want to correct a behavior in my daughter right then when the issue happens. While it's good to go ahead and address issues, taking a couple of minutes to step away from the group and address it in private isn't going to take away from the discipline. In fact it may help her to remember it more.
C.S. Lewis said in his book The Weight of Glory, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
What Lewis is saying is that we have to see people through Jesus' eyes. We have to see them as people who will either reside with Christ as perfect beings one day or find themselves in everlasting torment.
In order to be kind we have to see who people truly are and see the pain that they are dealing with. Then we have to be willing to help ease that pain with the love of Jesus. If we can do that, our kindness may very well play a role in what the end of their story looks like.
My prayer today is that we can each find someone, look at who they truly are, and do what we can to show them the loving kindness of Jesus. God bless.
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