Lesson 7: God's Love is Kind – He Takes Sinners As They Are

 Titus 3:1-7 "Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 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, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

The Bible clearly says that nobody is getting to heaven because they are so wonderful. Rather, it says that once we too were disobedient fools, enslaved to sin, and full of hatred. But out of kindness God poured out His love through Jesus Christ and saved us, in spite of ourselves. That is pretty kind!

 But we live in a world that no longer pleads for the kindness of God. People today no longer think they are disobedient fools, enslaved to sin, and full of hatred. They think they are full of sugar and spice and everything nice. The average person today thinks they need no kindness from God. They think they are owed the Kingdom of God! But if we got what was owed to us, we would go straight to hell!

 Therefore, in order to better appreciate the love of God, we need to take a closer look at the kindness of God. God takes sinners just as they are.

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 "For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

 He chose the foolish, the weak, the lowly, and the despised! Why did God do that? Was He just trying to ruin our self-esteem? Absolutely! To keep us from boasting before Him. He did it to display His kindness by not waiting for us to become perfect people. If God were to wait for us to become perfect, He would still be waiting. This is the great news! Out of kindness God takes us, sinners, just as we are, and forgives us because Jesus died in our place. That is kind!

Therefore all this self-love self-esteem teaching going around is so deadly. It gets people to boast about their so-called wonderfulness when the whole time they are filled with wretchedness.

All this self-love self-esteem teaching tricks us into not looking into the mirror and seeing ourselves for who we really are! The fact is, this side of heaven, considering Who God is, we have no idea how grotesque our sins appear to Him. If God were to treat us like we treat each other, He would never even step in the same room with us!

 The good news is God takes us just as we are, ugliness and all. He looks beyond our deformities and out of kindness, He still draws us into a relationship with Himself. I call that love!
 
Thought Question: If God’s Love is so kind and forgiving, why do we treat God with such disrespect?