Kindness that Interrupts

But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

-Titus 3:4-5

Kindness that interrupts. Love that intercedes. Mercy that rescues. 

This is Jesus. 

Our kind Saviour who, as he steps down into humanity, interrupts his way for the sake of our way. This same kindness is that which means he stops to talk with the Samaritan woman; it’s that which causes him to pause for blind Bartimaus; and it’s that which leads him to the cross in order to bring us salvation. 

I long to be kind. I long for my children to be kind. It’s a word that is frequently on my lips. But what does it mean to be kind like Jesus, to be kind because of Jesus? 

I’m persuaded that to be kind is to be willingly and sacrificially interrupted. It is to give up my own interests for the sake of someone else’s. It is to stop, listen, lean in and love in ways that go beyond my own comfort and my own desires. It is to look for the interruption, not simply wait for it to come. 

But only because of the kindness and love of Jesus.