~Ami Schmidtke
Truly, I marvel at the kindness and the patience of our God.
Even when we stumble or stray – when we allow our gaze to be enraptured by the things of this world – still, our God is a Shepherd who comes after us. He will seek to recapture our attention and draw us back unto Himself; our God invites us home, pursuing us with His kindness.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he wrote:
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)
The warning here is clear, and if we operate with an appropriate measure of reverence for God, it may cause us tremble (and rightly so). At the same time though, we cannot lose sight of Paul’s assertion that it is God’s kindness – His chrēstos – which leads us to repentance.
For every time that I have wandered, my God is One who patiently sought me out and drew me close, receiving me back with such incredible grace and mercy. Truly, it is the kindness of God that has drawn me in, provoking genuine sorrow and causing me to repent and turn back to Him.
I can testify to the truth of what Peter wrote to the saints in his first letter: “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). My own experiences echo God’s declaration to Israel through the prophet Isaiah: “In returning [repentance] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Our patient Father knows we will make mistakes and try to go our own way, and yet – still –He will not forsake us. David articulated it beautifully: “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:24, NKJV). Our freedom makes it possible for us to fall, but in His mercy, our God will not cast us out or put us aside.
Knowing we serve a Holy God who cannot abide sin makes the reality of His kindness towards us that much more incredible. This is literally woven into the fabric of the Gospel message! In Titus we read: “But when the kindness [chrēstos] of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us” (Titus 3:4-5a). God’s kindness was manifested in the flesh, in the person of Jesus Christ! And Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf is the only reason we have access to relationship with God in the first place. What a God we serve!
Everyone who receives Christ has access to the kindness of God through the person of Jesus. Our God also delights in showing us His kindness in the smaller things; how have you seen the chrēstos of God towards you?