Kindness: Opening Your Hands to the World
July 4, 2026
Kindness sounds simple. It is anything but. In the kingdom of God, kindness is not a personality trait for the naturally warm-hearted — it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the outward expression of a heart transformed by the love of Christ.
The Apostle Paul puts it plainly in Ephesians 4:32: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (NKJV). The standard is breathtaking. Not “be kind when it is convenient” — be kind as Christ was kind to you. That is a completely different thing.
What does it look like? It looks like Jesus stopping for a blind beggar when everyone else kept walking. It looks like hands that reach toward the person no one else will touch. It looks like speaking a word of encouragement when a word of criticism would have been easier. Kindness sees the person in front of it and chooses to move toward them rather than past them.
And this matters beyond the personal. Paul tells us in Romans 2:4 that it is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. When we walk in kindness, we are not merely being pleasant — we are being instruments in His hand, reflecting a God who is “kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35, NKJV).
Colossians 3:12 tells us to “put on” kindness as we would a garment — a deliberate choice, something we clothe ourselves with each morning by the power of the Spirit. It does not come naturally to a world shaped by competition and self-preservation. It comes supernaturally, as we yield to the One who is kindness itself.
Friend, let us open our hands. Let us open our hearts. Let the kindness of God flow through us into a world that is desperately, urgently in need of it.
May His kindness be evident in everything you do today. Amen.