By Marissa Soto
An aspect of the Lord that tends to be overlooked in my own heart is God’s attribute of kindness. It is easy to reflect on and magnify only the particularly “honorable” and “fearable” attributes of God: His holiness, might, strength and just sheer otherness of being Sovereign and Creator. These attributes of God are all true of Himself, and are all cause for a reverence and obedience to an awe-inspiring God. However, a good, tender and loving God is also worthy to be served and feared. Well enough for the Christian, the Lord is all of these.
A verse that has been of particular comfort this semester comes from the second half of Psalm 145:13. It says, “The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works.” Before this verse is quickly overlooked because it is the dreaded bracketed half of the verse, one must dig deeply into Scripture to see if this is true. Just verses later in Psalm 145:17, David reaffirms this when he says that, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works.”
The Apostle Paul also hones in on this idea of kindness in Romans 2:4, stating that it is in fact the kindness of God that leads one to repentance. Not wrath, not justice or anger, but kindness promotes the very act of repentance, which is a vital part of the reconciliation of man to God and the salvation process. Titus 3:4 also alludes to Christ Jesus as the very manifestation of God’s kindness and love for mankind. Christ’s life, death and resurrection all are evidences of the tender care and kindness God has for His own.
But to teleport back into the Old Testament, God’s tenderness and kindness is found all throughout the pages of Scripture. It is seen specifically through His gentle care of His flock in Isaiah 40:11. The Lord is described so intimately not by His judgment and wrath for His chosen and rebellious nation, but rather by His choice to have compassion.
The hesed covenant love of God is additionally described and translated as loving-kindness in the Bible! Not just any love, but a kind and faithful love for those who are His. This is the love He promises David in 2 Samuel 7:15, the love Daniel confessed in the midst of Babylon, the love Hosea exhibited for his wayward wife and the love God offers to all those who choose to obey Him. His love is not characterized by a machismo, “tough love” ideal, but rather a kind and permanent care for His children. This lovingkindness shall never depart from those He has promised it to.
It is of the utmost significance that we understand that God can equally be Yahweh of Hosts as well as a kind and gentle Father. What other god can be this for His people? What other God can conquer nations and create galaxies but can also tenderly love and long-suffer for the sake of a sinful man or woman?
Because God is not one-dimensional, not able to fit into the small confines of the finite mind, we have greater reason to praise and adore Him. Because our Lord is capable of such tender and gentle dealings with broken individuals, we can trust and love Him even more than if He was not.
The TMU Mane 