Colossians 3:12-13a
Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.
Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…
Thanks so much for stopping what you are doing to come and join me for a coffee break and more of our WOW, a spiritual shopping spree for clothes that will withstand the test of time! Grab your coffee and come on in.
Oh, don’t you find that when you’re clothes start feeling tight, it’s like someone reached into your mind and turned the negativity burner up and the joy burner down? I can always tell if I’ve put weight on when I put on something I’ m looking forward to wearing and unexpectedly I have to twist and pull to get it over my suddenly bulging curves that have mysteriously, almost overnight, gained a whole new layer of menopausal fat! Ugh! So what do I do? I used to have a fit and fall in it; now, just remind myself this is just for a season, but there are days when I have to do what one of my former employees has told me: Breathe in a bag, and I mean deeply!
So it is with putting on these spiritual garments; we sometimes need to change our attitude before they will fit right! That sounds a heck of a lot easier than changing the way I eat or going to the gym to exercise or hitting the trail for a run! Okay, so we’ve got a good attitude and we’ve already gotten our first piece of clothing for this amazing outfit He wants us to wear so let’s go after that next garment: kindness.
Kindness as defined in the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is: “The act of being kind” – duh – and also “a kind act.” But the first thing I think of is the fruits of the Spirit. Kindness is one of them, which means it’s not just a one-time dress to wear and hide in the closet, but it’s a virtue, a must-have accessory to the outfit! I wonder what the Hebrew and definitions are for this virtue. Ah-ha, this is interesting. It translates to the word “checed,” which is kind. That definition states: “a practical exhibition of loving-kindness toward our fellowman, whose only claim may be misfortune and whom it is in our power to help, though perhaps at the expense of time, money, convenience and even religious or national prejudice.”
Wow, what a mouthful, and what a lot of territory that covers. What’s interesting is many times in the Bible the word “loving” precedes kindness. Hmm, that’s interesting and wouldn’t it be fun to explore that a bit further before — oops, He’s beckoning us forward to show us what this garment looks like. Let’s go see.
What is He saying? “Kindness, worn as a noun, means ‘loving-kindness, steadfast love, grace, mercy, faithfulness goodness, devotion’ and is seen 240 times in the Old Testament.”
He’s beckoning us to come a little closer. Come on.
Oh, the look of gentleness on His face is captivating. His eyes are overflowing with love as He continues to explain to us the importance of this garment, which I don’t know about you, but I had no idea involved so many beautiful threads!
Join me Wednesday for more of this spiritual clothes shopping spree!
Evinda
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