“Brotherly Kindness”

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

When I think of brotherly kindness I think of Jesus Christ. If the truth were known, his acts of kindness would be numberless. But the Scriptures do attempt to give us a picture of this virtue on the life of our Lord. Brotherly kindness was shown when Jesus fed the hungry multitudes; when he healed the lame and blind; when he showed compassion in raising the son of the widow of Nain from the dead; when he cried at the tomb of Lazarus. As great as these acts of kindness were, his greatest act was the sharing of his saving message to the world which he made possible by dying at Calvary. Without that one act of kindness, we would still be lost in sin. It goes without saying that we should always demonstrate this virtue in our lives. Most of us can be kind as long as things go smoothly. It’s when we’re tested that we know whether or not we have the virtue.

If you truly have brotherly kindness you:

1. Will not respond negatively to another’s offenses, but you will turn the other cheek.

2. Will not take revenge into your own hands because it belongs to God.

3. Will not spread damaging gossip about others whether it is true or not!

4. Will not hold grudges, but will forgive and forget.

5. Will give your brother the benefit of the doubt.

As Paul put it, showing brotherly kindness is “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other . . . Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Col. 3:13).

Ted Blackwood

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