Love is kind… Yes, beloved, love is kind in every way. Even, or especially, when administered with and by mercy. (1Cor 13:4; Rom 12:1)
“...the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience…” it is “…God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance…” Romans 2:4
That I, that we, have received this gift, this grace, when we least deserved it - while we were at enmity with God, the Giver of this grace, He showed His love for us.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…, …while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son…” and by Jesus’ loving work “...have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:6,8,10-11
And why? Why would God do such a thing as this?
“For God SO loved the world that He gave…” John 3:16-18
And so
“...it is by grace we have been saved…” Ephesians 2:8
God’s loving and merciful grace. And what is God’s grace? Is it not the gift of His kindness?
If this is true of our Father toward us, those who He has made His children, should this not be true of us, filled with that very God, toward others?
Riches: wealth, abundance - materially or spiritually - much in number and quality, of many kinds.
Flowing, poured
Fullness, plentitude: with excellence in which one abounds - that is the recipient, the person enriched with that of the highest value
Rom 11:11:12, 33 “the riches of God in salvation and wisdom as well as Eph 1:7 “the riches of His grace” vs. Matt 13:22 “the deceitfulness of riches” or Luke 8:14 of the same.
Kindness: goodness, uprightness, gentleness.
Well-fit for use for what is really needed - that serves the need of the needy.
A useful kindness - meeting real needs, in God’s way, in His timing and fashion - and is provided to us by God (the Holy Spirit) and acted in and through us by God the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit-produced goodness which meets the need - and - avoids human harshness or cruelty.
Kind and good - moral excellence, gentleness, goodness
God toward us: Titus 3:4 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying.
Us toward others: Col 3:12 “clothe yourselves with…”
Forbearance or tolerance - suspense or delay of punishment, patience
Patient endurance - love is patient, God is love, God’s love is patient patience
God’s mercy holds up, holding back judgment
Patience - long-suffering, long-passion - waiting sufficient time before expressing anger
Slowness in avenging wrongs. Matt 5:39 “if someone slaps you on the…”; 1Cor 6:7 “...why not rather be wronged…?
Premature use of force or retribution that rises out of improper anger - personal reaction (being offended or wanting revenge or to avenge)
Divinely regulated patience - this is used of God toward man (1Pet 3:20; 2Pet 3:15)
Produced by God the Holy Spirit in and through us toward God, self, and others
Staying-power, “long-tempered”
Repentance: a change of mind, change in the inner man.
To cause me to repent or turn away and to
The ability to repent - as one who could see and now can see (a light has dawned” (Isa: 9:2; Matt 4:16; Luke 1:79; Eph 5:8) and revealed to mankind his sin and impending judgment in a merciful and gracious attempt to warn and save - to call us off our current path (of understanding) into a new path of life. (John 1)
A change of mind by which we turn from, desist from what and the way we were, to… (2Pet 3:9; 2Cor 7:9 “…your sorrow led you to repentance” our sin in the face of God’s kindness brings a godly sorrow that bears in us a desire to turn and bring Him joy with a grateful response)
1Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
God has been kind, allowing his long-suffering - His patience and tolerance - to do its work. God’s timing can seem slow and unkind. When in fact it is perfectly timed and mercifully kind - patient in the waiting as it, that kindly patience, accomplishes His perfect and loving will.
Preparing the entire world for What, for Who, is to come. And not only the “entire world”, but in each of our own worlds, He worked and works His kindly work.
And then, not only ours, but each and every world He has prepared in advance for our world to meet, intersect, encounter, and impact with the love He has poured into us, that their world might now be changed, transformed, saved by the gift of God’s loving-kindness.
Israel had waited… The Messiah had been promised and prophesied for thousands of years, and now, God had been quiet for the last 400 years. In the meantime, the Israelites prayed, waited, looked for, and been hopeful and fooled, for how many generations.?!
God, what are you doing? What is taking so long? Why are you so slow in fulfilling your promise?!
What we, as humans, sometimes do not understand is God’s slowness, His waiting, for what seems, a lifetime, to do what He has promised to do. Maaaaannnn!!!
But, we must come to understand, believe, and trust, is that God’s “slowness” is not slow as we understand slowness, but this “slowness” is God waiting and working and allowing His patience and perseverance - to its work (James 1) in the life of Israel, as He lovingly prepared not only Israel, but the world, for his coming grace. Jesus.
Luke 2:26,46,76-79; Matthew 1:18-25
Elizabeth and Zechariah
Israel's prayers
Israel’s suffering
Israel’s being
Elizabeth and Zechariah’s long life of service mingled with grief and disgrace, wondering and now, waiting…
Joseph and Mary
The announcement
The Holy Spirit’s work
The 9 months - anticipating His arrival
The 30 years waiting to see it all come to fruition…
The 3 years of wondering what all of this meant
The hours through the trial, the beating, the conviction
The walk to the hill
The seeming lifetime watching Him on the cross…
The grave, the Spirit’s arrival
The wait goes on
And now, the wait goes on… how will we wait?
