3 Verses to Live by in 2010 – Part 3/3
This last verse, even if you don't believe in God you will love because you've been wanting to tell those self-righteous types this very thing.
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" (Romans 2:1-4, emphasis mine)
It's easy to point the figure (just remember that when you do there's three pointing right back at you, right?). But when you take the time to realize what God has done in your life and keeps on doing, that'll lead to some serious love in gratitude for who He is and for others as well.
Three things to consider:
1) How did I become a Christian? - I didn't become a Christian because it made the most sense or because I went to some retreat or camp and got caught up emotionally and suddenly surrendered my life to God. I am a Christian because of what God has done, in sending Jesus to take the eternal consequences for my sins, and in light of that work am swept away by such grace. You won't reason people into loving God, you can only show it and help them realize the grace God has given them in their own lives.
2) Kindness is key - The word "kindness" is wordplay in the Greek for the word Christ (chrestes vs. christos). It's also reminiscent of this Old Testament word (chesed) which is translated "steadfast loving-kindness". It has an enduring quality, and even in light of the context in Romans 2, kindness is rooted in the patience and enduring love of God. There's a difference between being kind and being nice. Kindness is more a trait of character. Niceness is just temporary and dependent upon circumstances.
3) Judgmental or Kind? - What do I want to be known for? Gracious, patient, kindness as that of God's, or do I want to somehow convey that God is just judgmental. We've given God enough of a bad reputation. I'm not going to kill people with kindness, I want to be killed by God's kindness, put less of my interests first and genuinely love others.
So put all three verses together, and this is somewhat my own mission statement for this year: Rejoice, Know God, Show Kindness. It's not as catchy as I want it to be, but it succinctly summarizes my goals for this year--not to complete a task, but to make it a deeper quality of my character.
