Picture being at a roller skating rink. The deejay announces all couples skate, and we scramble to grab someone’s hand.
However, just any hand won’t do. We don’t grab for the touch of a stranger. We reach for a familiar one, a hand that will feel just right in ours.
There is a special hand God wants us to offer when someone needs repentance. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 we read God’s blueprint for the Christian. We should not insist on our own way, for we should bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. He does not want us to show envy or boast in ourselves. We should not be arrogant toward sinners, or rude when we speak to them.
Certainly, Paul is talking about love, but how can we not place his words in the context of caring for sinners? When bringing the lost to Jesus, kindness and repentance go hand in hand.
Peter says it well in 1 Peter 4:8, for he encourages us to love one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Luke states it even more clearly, for in Luke 6:35, he tells us to love our enemies, to do good to them, and to expect nothing in return. What better way is there to bring the sinner to repentance than to love him or her into it with open arms?
God makes it clear we can’t beat salvation into someone. We can only offer it. Whether to our children, our coworkers, or someone we meet on the street, through us, God comes to them gently, and he offers his hand to them. They are free to take it if they want, but they are equally free to walk away.
This is God’s enduring legacy. He created man, knowing mankind would reject him. Why? He wished to offer his loving kindness in the hopes that mankind would draw unto him. He can be no other way.
Read about him in Psalm 86:15, where we are given a clear picture of God’s nature. "You, oh, Lord, are filled with mercy and kindness. You are patient and seldom become angry. To all your creation, you show love and endurance."
Jesus, who was God incarnate, and who spoke with the words of the Father, revealed this same essence to the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 9:12-13, for when he heard them, he said, “It is those who are ill who need a physician. How can you not understand that I desire kindness more than the sacrifice of animals?”
We can only strive to emulate him, for he is so far above us that we are as the dust of the earth under his feet. What a wonder that he chose to live among us, showing us the hand of kindness in everything he did.
If we offer the hand of Christ's redemption to a sinner, and we do not offer the other hand filled with kindness, we have lost the opportunity to bring a soul into the kingdom.
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