And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
A Jewish woman who, along with her twin sister, had suffered terrible atrocities under the notorious Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele in the Auschwitz concentration camps in German, said many years later that she had completely forgiven Mengele and the other Nazi torturers. Her words caused a sharp backlash among other Jewish survivors of the horrors of Auschwitz. One Jewish scholar responded to her claim by angrily declaring, ‘We do not owe anyone forgiveness’. And when we think of how terrible those atrocities were, we can hardly blame the man. And yet, in his words – we do not owe anyone forgiveness – we draw a sharp contrast between the limited capacity of us to forgive and the unlimited capacity of God to forgive. No, I don’t know how that dear Jewish lady could forgive such a butcher as Mengele. Nor do I know how the holy God of Heaven could forgive such vile and thankless rebels as you and me. But He has. And He desires that we should follow His example by forgiving others.
How different from God’s kindness to us is the seeming endless hatred and destruction in the heart of mankind! In his hymn entitled ‘There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy’, Frederick W. Faber includes the following stanza: ‘For the love of God is greater than the measure of man’s mind; And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind’. David understood something of that kindness after he had sinned and God’s prophet offered him three choices: seven years of famine, three months of pursuit by his enemies, or three days of pestilence. David responded ‘Let me fall into the hands of God and not into the hands of man’ (2 Samuel 24:14). During the pestilence, there came a point when in His kindness, God declared ‘It is enough’, and the pestilence stopped. This reminds us of the precious words of the Lord Jesus at Calvary, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). Because God’s wrath against our sin was fully borne by His Son on the cross, God can turn toward us in kindness, and forgive us. All of our rebellion, our despising of His goodness, our rejection of His offers of mercy and grace, are all forgiven. And His eternal life is granted and guaranteed. Are we grateful for that forgiveness? The very thought ought to bring tears of gratitude to our eyes. And it ought to produce forgiveness in us toward any who have ever wronged or offended us in any way.
Being kind to each other should be basic to everybody we encounter; that is just being a decent human being. And it is a good testimony to the world of the grace that is given to us. But our text has in mind the kindness that Christians ought to have for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. As fellow recipients of the grace of God, our willingness to be helpful, compassionate, and caring, ought to be evident in every way. Such kindness ought to leave no room for grudges or lingering disagreements, or any partiality in who we show kindness to.
Remember Jesus’ words: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another’ (John 13:34). How can we be unkind when we remember His kindness to us? -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the video link to this message: https://youtu.be/ODWDnkE1NX8