Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
“Kindness. A wider benignity, with which some are so dowered that they come like the sunshine. But all can cultivate it. When we come out of the secret place of the Most High, we shall bear some reflection of Him whose “tender mercies are over all His works.” This is the opposite of that worldly wisdom which prides itself on its knowledge of men and is suspicious of everybody. It is the most powerful solvent of ill-will and indifference.”
Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) in “The Garments of the Renewed Soul” a must-read short sermon by a prolific Scottish preacher.
I confess. I did not know what “benignity” meant, so I looked it up. I found that it means kindness, good deeds, or favor in action. Notice, for Maclaren, that this generous action starts with stillness with the Most High.
When we spend time with our kind and loving God, and then we go forth with kindness. His “tender mercies” or His proverbial fingerprints will be literally all over the works that we do. We will be shining.
Notice the impact. We can be generous with time or money, but when we cloth ourselves with kindness, we engage “the most powerful solvent of ill-will and indifference.” God help us dispense this solvent richly!
Make a generous gift to all of humanity, since there is so much ill-will and indifference in the world today. Spend time with the Most High daily. You will go forth radiantly shining with kindness.
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