Be Kind part 5
I'm going to quote our key verse again to wrap up this Rant series, with the understanding that we're going to continue to use it for the forseeable future as we look at each aspect of love we are to "put on." Colossians 3:12, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." And we've looked a little bit at the idea of "putting on" or sinking into the garment that we've already been given. Getting comfortable in it by using it. And we've looked at length at the truth that "kindness" means "usefulness." Because it is always useful to be kind. A soft, kind word can make all the difference in a situation. So tonight, as we end this Rant series and get ready to start a new one tomorrow, I want to take a look at the phrase "elect of God." "Elect" is number 1586 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "select; by implication favorite: - chosen, elect." And I've said this many times... I'm God's favorite, and you are two. God is no respecter of persons. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. Look at Deuteronomy 32:10, "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." We--you, me, humanity--are the apple of God's eye. He loved us so much He would rather die than live without us. He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to us. So that we might know that we ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. So that we might know God as Father and ourselves as Son. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And do you know what God did to His favorite? He gave us the best of everything. He wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. So that the best (LOVE) could come out THROUGH us. He gave us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Including (but not limited to) the bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. These are not things we are to aspire to. That's not what "putting them on" means. These are things that we have. Things that we ARE. Because these are aspects of love. And love isn't just what God does, love is who God IS. And as He is, so are we in this world. So love is not just what we have... love is who we are. We are not called to act kind. We are called to be kind. Because when you get right down to it, "acting kind" will always be just that--an act. But when you know who you are, when you believe that you are who God says you are, then you can BE who you are. Blockbuster's slogan was, "Be kind, please rewind." Our slogan should be, "I am kind, so I will be kind." Because behavior is dictated by belief. What you do flows from what you believe. What's inside--what you believe is inside--comes out. Always has and always will. At the end of the day you are who you believe you are--either what the world tells you you are, or what God tells you you are. The world is unkind. It tells you all sorts of lies and tries to get you to jump through hoops to earn everything you have. God tells you the truth. And the truth is kind. Useful. Because the truth is: You are loved. And because you ARE loved, you CAN love!