It is the Kindness of God

"So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or
do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and
patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"
- Romans 2:3,4

This phrase, 'it is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance' has been ringing in my head for the last couple of weeks. More and more, i've been moved by kindness around me.. and more and more, i've been reminded by God that it is really the kindness of God that leads us to know that we've done wrong and with the same kindness that He has extended to us, we are to do the same to others as well. This has been and will continue to be a challenge to me, because normally when i realise that someone else has done wrong to me or in a task given, man, really no mercy from me! My world was/is so black and white. Wrong is wrong and right is right.

Then i realised, that while GOD has clearly laid out the laws and commandments so that we can recognize sin and wrongdoing, it is not His harsh condemnation that brought people back to Him, but it was the extraordinary kindness that He extended towards them that brought them back to the right track or to do what He had originally planned to do.

Kindness as defined by the Webster's 1828 dictionary is "that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the
happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their
wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses"

It stuns me that in spite of our wrongdoing, mistakes and slip ups.. God's temper and disposition (heart direction) causes him to delight in contributing to our happiness through it all! Simply put, it makes HIM happy for us to be happy!  He continues to watch over us, bless us.. not in a way that makes us think that our specific sin is ok, but He does not see it as all encompassing. That your person, is not made up of that specific sin, but more. That though He HATES that specific sin and He wants u to know His hatred for that in your life (hence He allows the feelings of conviction and brings in correction), yet He loves you still, as His beloved child.

A mature Christian is one who understands that it is the kindness and goodness of God that blessings abound in ur life and is in no way related to his/her "deserving-ness" and should never take for granted that blessings in their lives are a sign that they are doing great and so become complacent in checking sin in his/her heart daily. But rather, in response to His kindness in your life, you cannot help but want to draw close to him again, to love Him with all you've got and the only path to that is really repentance from the sins He brings to light each time. Hence, true repentance is a response to His kindness.

I look at my own life.. that how sometimes i have messed things up and fallen far short of even my own expectations.. but the kindness of the pp around me, in little things.. bring me to tears. People who continue to speak kindly to me, to think the best of me, to serve me in little ways, who continue to be thoughtful (ie. Jovi, my colleague from my ex-company days still remembers my fav kueh and i was so touched that couple of yrs down the road, she still remembers and brought it in for me in Trybe. I was so so touched! ). These acts of kindness make me wanna be better for them, make me wanna give all my best so they too can succeed.

The kindness of God can shine through us as His people if we allow Him to work in our lives. And i have to remind myself that it is the kindness of God, not demandingness in my life that will bring out the best in people around me.