Love is kind. (1 Corinthians 13:4)

If you love with God’s love, you will love with kindness.

Jesus models kindness for us. He extends His kindness by doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Consider His healing of the lepers in Luke 17.

While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” (verses 11-19)

These men couldn’t heal themselves. They needed someone to help them, but they faced barriers of isolation. They needed someone to reach across the boundaries and into their deepest needs in order to move beyond where they were into a life full of hope. They needed Jesus.

Jesus didn’t have to help that day. He had plenty of other things He could have been doing—very good things, such as teaching His disciples and followers or correcting the many wrongs being done in the name of God by religious authorities of the day. But Jesus doesn’t stay in the “safe” zone of an inner circle of friends and family or even church family. His kindness wasn’t dependent on a specific heritage. His kindness was dependent on need—and it still is.

In some way, you need Jesus right now. He knows your needs better than you know them. You might take your perceived needs to Him and wonder why He’s withholding His kindness from you, but He’s not. His response is always kind, so however He responds in every circumstance to every plea comes out of His kindness.

Let Him move in your life—even when you don’t comprehend exactly what that means or looks like. Jesus is kind to you. As you rely on Him and His love, you extend that kindness to others around you.

Dear God, I need You. I need Your kindness and You love. There are days when I feel strong, but so many times I am weak. You know that even when I feel strong, if I’m not relying on Your strength, I am not strong. I long for Your presence and provision. I am grateful that You continue to pour into me even when I don’t use Your provision as You intend. Open my eyes and heart in those unyielding blind places.