Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, LORD. Psalm 23:6
“Kindness isn’t always giving people what they want, because what they want may bring harm to them. For example, you would cause great difficulty for your children if every time they wanted something you gave it to them. As children grow older it is absolutely necessary that they develop maturity, and with that comes the reality of having to work for a living and for the things they desire. If they never learn that truth, they will likely limp through life.
Kind people look for opportunities to show kindness. David wrote in Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” In the original language the words “follow me,” mean that God’s goodness, mercy, and love will pursue me and hunt me down all of my life. God, our Father, is constantly looking for ways to help us, to bless us, and to care for us. He is always ready to give us counsel. He is never too busy and loves to take time for us. His kindness is everlasting toward you and me. As God’s children we are to be like Him.”
Thomas E. Trask and Wayde I. Goodall in The Fruit of the Spirit: Becoming the Person God Wants You to Be (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000) 91.
As we think of our generosity linked to kindness, this idea that God’s kindness follows us and that our kindness follows others is absolutely beautiful.
We get to pursue people, thinking of ways to bless them, not with everything they want, but with what they need. We do this because God has done it for us.
Father, show us someone to follow with kindness. By your Holy Spirit, empower us to extend it to them. Do this so we show your love I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
God’s kindness follows me through people like my friend and GTP board secretary, Randy Kung. We had a great meeting yesterday at Chino Valley Community Church (pictured above) in sunny California.