Kindness – Kindness That Embraces (365/206)
- 10 minutes ago
- 2 min read
It is easy to be compassionate toward people we like. We can feel deeply for those whose stories resemble ours, whose struggles we understand, or whose lives we believe are worth rescuing. But what happens when God shows kindness to someone we think deserves judgment?
Jonah found out - and he was furious.
“I knew that you are a gracious God and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 4:2)
Jonah knew exactly what God was like. He could describe Him as gracious, compassionate, patient and abounding in steadfast love. Yet when Nineveh repented and God withheld the judgment He had announced, Jonah was angry (Jonah 3:10–4:1). His problem was not ignorance of God's character; it was resistance to that character when God's mercy extended to people Jonah considered undeserving. God then used a plant to expose Jonah's selective compassion. God's question exposes the heart of the matter: “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh?” (Jonah 4:11).
God’s mercy is not limited by our categories of worthiness (Psalm 145:8–9; Ezekiel 33:11). While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We were not saved because we were deserving, but because God is merciful.
Pause and Ponder
Whose suffering or failure makes it difficult for me to feel compassion?
Do I extend kindness more readily to those I consider deserving?
Where might Christ be asking me to surrender judgment and embrace His compassion?
The litmus test of our kindness quotient is often found in the people we find hardest to show kindness to.
Gracious God, forgive me when I want Your mercy for myself but judgment for others. Give me the heart of Christ, especially toward those I find difficult to love. Amen.
Extended Reading: Jonah 4
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