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What do people believe about Jesus based on the way you treat them? What are your interactions with people as a Jesus follower communicating about our Savior? I’ve been asking myself those questions a lot lately after watching a message on kindness and mercy by Pastor Daniel Fusco from Crossroads Community Church (based on the Beatitude in Matthew 5:7 and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22).

I know I need this message. The natural bent of my personality is to be harsh, quick-tempered and critical of others; I constantly need God to help me grow in kindness. In this blog post, we’ll study God’s kindness and how our own kindness affects the way we represent God to others.

God Is Kind

I’ve been super burdened with the witness of the Church for a while now. Maybe you have too. It seems many people don’t associate Christians (or Jesus) with kindness. The way Christians interact with each other and with people who don’t know Jesus yet sometimes has not communicated the kindness of God but rather communicated harshness.

This grieves me because I so want to see followers of Jesus–myself included–loving God and loving people the way God lays out in the Bible. I know how important it is to represent Christ well as people are either drawn to Him or repelled by Him largely based on their interactions with His people.

“…You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.” (James 5:11)

Kindness impacts our Christian witness, gives us opportunity to draw closer to God, and helps us reveal Him to others by acting the way He acts. Each of us is called to be a kind Christian because we follow a kind God. Yes, God is a God of power, majesty, justice and righteousness. However, God is also full of tenderness and mercy. (James 5:11)

He is moved with compassion in emotion and action toward people in their suffering and need, whether that need be physical or spiritual. (Matthew 9:36 // Mark 14:14 // Luke 7:13) He extends forgiveness to the guilty. He is full of love.  (Psalm 86:5)  He does good to people, which means He does things for others that help them and bring benefit to their lives. (Psalm 103) He is generous and gracious. (1 Timothy 1:14) And we are called to imitate Him.

Being a Kind Christian to Nonbelievers

Pastor Daniel referenced a verse in his message that I had casually read several times before but, as I started studying it, I started to grasp its implications even more.

“Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” 

(Galatians 6:10)

Note that Galatians 6:10 calls Christians to do good to everyone, especially those in the family of faith, not only those in the family of faith. Are you kind to your brothers and sisters in faith only or are you kind to everyone? God not only calls us to live this way as His children, He models it for us in Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-36.

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

  (Matthew 5:43-45)

*see Luke 6:27-36 for a parallel passage

In these verses, God isn’t saying that people who don’t share our faith are our enemies. Not at all! Rather, He’s teaching us about His kind nature towards all of us whether we believe in Him and follow His ways yet or not, and calling those of us who do believe in Him to follow His example.

Contrary to popular belief, being kind to people doesn’t inherently endorse sin they may be participating in or beliefs they might hold that don’t match the teaching of Scripture. I think there’s a subconscious misunderstanding amongst some of us as Christians that in order to be biblically faithful in belief and conduct we have to be mean and antagonistic toward people who disagree with us.

Here’s the problem with that approach: it’s the opposite of the example of Jesus and the teaching of Scripture, and it’s actually counterproductive to the mission of God in the world. (John 8:1-11 // Colossians 4:3-6 // 1 Peter 3:15-16)

Romans 2:4 teaches that it’s the kindness of God that leads people to repentance. Something that fascinates me as I read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life on earth is the way He called people to repentance and faith in Himself with kindness. He didn’t have to be harsh and condemning to get the point across and neither do we.

He didn’t wait until people believed in Him and turned from sin before He loved them, interacted with them and built relationship with them and neither do we. (Mark 2:13-17) I believe it was His kindness that opened people’s hearts to His truth. It will be our kindness that opens people’s hearts to Jesus as well.

Being a Kind Christian to Fellow Christians

Sometimes as Christians we have a hard time being kind to our neighbors in the world who don’t yet know Jesus, but sometimes we also have a hard time being kind to each other. This is where I struggle the most. It’s way easier for me to be compassionate and gracious to people who don’t share my faith than it is for me to treat other Christians that way. Especially in areas where we perceive shortcomings or where there are differences among us, it can be tempting to respond like the culture does to people you disagree with.

It’s so easy to slip into speaking negatively to and about people or only associating with people who think and live like you do. If we’re not careful, we can fail to express any emotions or gestures of goodwill toward them. We can fail to express any affirmation of their positive qualities or the areas in which we agree with one another, even if we may still have a difference of opinion in some other areas.

Jesus calls us to a higher standard. As Christians, we are to set the tone for how people relate to one another–especially amidst differences and disagreements –not follow the tone set by the culture. Here what the Word tells us to do:

Encourage one another and build each other up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Genuinely love one another and honor one another. (Romans 12:9-10)

Be gentle and humble toward one another, make every effort to stay united and to live peacefully with one another. (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Be hospitable to one another. (Romans 12:13)

That’s a lot of “one another’s” isn’t it? And there are more. Do a study on the “one another” verses in the New Testament. It’s pretty cool stuff. These are not just good suggestions. They are commands and exhortations given to us by God because He cares that we follow His example of how to treat people. I’m asking God to write this truth deeply on my heart and yours and to help us live accordingly.

Are You a Kind Christian?

What if people said about us, “I’m so intrigued by this Jesus. I want to know more about Him. His people are so kind.” I believe that can be the case. I believe that through our lives people will experience the kindness of Jesus and be drawn to Him.

So let me ask you three questions I’ve been asking myself:

Are you a kind Christian? (When you are kind, you are behaving like your Father in Heaven. Matthew 5:48 // Luke 6:36) Are you kind to your brothers and sisters in the faith? (The way we love and treat each other has direct impact on our testimony of Jesus. John 13:35 // John 17:23) Are you kind to everyone, even those who are not in the family of faith yet? (The way we love and treat them has direct impact on how they will perceive Jesus. Colossians 4:5-6)

Jesus, teach us to be kind like you are kind.

Let’s Talk:  How have you seen God demonstrate kindness to you in your own life?  How can you grow in showing God’s kindness to others? Discuss this post in the comments below.

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