By Darren J. Stott

We all accept the theology of a ‘kind’ God such as seen in John 3:16, however many of us wrestle with relating to a ‘kind’ God.  We understand in theory but we wrestle with, and perhaps deny, this attribute of God’s kindness when we do something wrong or when our spiritual lives cool down to lukewarm. This is perhaps why works-righteousness is so prevalent within our lives. Not because we believe in works based righteousness but because we have a hard time understanding the generosity of His unmerited favor towards us.

Jack Frost defined “stronghold” as a “fortress of thought.” A fortress is a large, fortified high place, which is permanent.  The problem with strongholds is that unless revealed by the Holy Spirit they remain permanently in place: a functioning, ruling, dominant force in our lives. Strongholds filter out the Voice from the Word thus removing intimacy from the kiss.  Strongholds turn wine into vinegar and deep beautiful relationship into religion. Strongholds contort our perception so that we cannot see the smile of God but instead we see the scowl of an unpleased master.  Strongholds interfere with your spirit’s operating system like a Trojan virus hacking its way through the data of your computer’s hard drive.  Knowledge of a firewall or anti-virus protection will not offer any protection to your computer at all. These preventative software updates and patches have to be purchased and then installed. We have a stronghold or a fortress of thought concerning the kindness of God.  We believe that the knowledge of its existence is enough for it to operate within our lives but we are wrong. The kindness of the Father is the fix for your soul crisis and the hope for this world. The kindness of the Father doesn’t just come to repair broken breeches, and restore things to the way they were. The Father’s kindness actually comes to restore things to the way they were supposed to be in the first place.  This is where we get the term “born again.”  God showed kindness by sending His Son, Jesus, to live, die, and resurrect so that we might have undeserved abundant life.

God doesn’t just act kindly towards his ‘good’ children but rather He is the very definition of kindness and the source of all kindness.  When Bono, The Gap, Starbucks, and other corporations give millions of dollars to those with AIDS and diseases in Africa they are revealing God’s nature of kindness. The major difference between the church and these corporations should be that the fruit of the Spirit is not intended to create branding opportunities but rather to reflect the compassion and sympathetic nature of God to the world.  The church is on display and our fruitfulness matters.  It is through our fruit that God reveals who he is.  Your theology, experience, decisions, and actions matter and will carry consequences for generations to come. Uncork the kindness of the Father in your life and leave a legacy for those who follow behind you. It will have an eternal impact.