But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Tit. 3:4-6 (ESV)
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? Rom. 2:4 (NASB)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Col. 3:12 (NIV)
Heavenly Father, there’s so much good news contained in this collage of Scriptures. Thank you for being relentlessly kind, gentle, and patient with us. Thank you that the gospel is true, and always better than we realize. We’re uber-grateful you don’t love us to the degree we love others, but to the degree you’ve hidden our lives in Jesus, which is 100%. Hallelujah!
Indeed, our union with Christ is our peace, joy, and hope. It’s also our “rocket fuel” for change. Your kindness towards us in Jesus leads us to repent of the ways we love others poorly—in thought, word, and deed. As this New Year begins, we repent of not being as quick to forgive, heal, and move on as you intend.
We repent of over-believing people’s inconsistencies and under-believing the gospel. We repent of letting ourselves get more irritated and annoyed at others, than remaining humble and kind, in response to your love for us. Though our culture is getting more cynical and critical, quick-triggered and mean-spirited, that’s not who we want to be. As far as our contribution to 2018 goes, we want to major in kindheartedness and healing words this year.
