“‘我要照耶和华一切所赐给我们的，提起他的慈爱和美德 …。’” – 赛 63:7
我们可以把恩慈形容为以友善、慷慨、体贴待人。不过，可悲的是，这种性情特质往往在我们日常生活中难以找到 – 特别是在充满竞争的环境中尤为罕见。我们若定意在世上寻找恩慈，或许可以找到一些，但遗憾的是，我们更容易找到的往往是无恩慈的行为。
以赛亚提到神的恩慈和衪为我们所做的一切。在伊甸园里，我们早已看到神对始祖的恩慈。神已经警告过亚当和夏娃，违背衪的命令会带来严重的后果。然而他们还是违背了，他们晓得自己做错了，继而感到惊慌。然而，神至少在两方面向他们展开了伟大的慈爱行动。第一，神没有立即以死亡来惩罚他们，衪反而应许会差衪的儿子来背负对一切罪行最终的刑罚。第二，神照顾亚当和夏娃当前的需要，为他们预备了遮体的衣服。从那时起，神一直在向我们显明衪的恩慈，衪表明衪儿子耶稣是拯救赦罪、重建关系、获得丰盛永恒生命的道路。
祷告
满有恩慈的神，今天求你感动我们看见你的慈爱，帮我们饶恕得罪我们的人，竭力领他们回归你的完全旨意，求你带领我们找到向人传递你恩慈的正确途径。奉耶稣祈求，阿们。
以赛亚书 63:7-9
7我要照耶和华一切所赐给我们的，提起他的慈爱和美德，并他向以色列家所施的大恩，这恩是照他的怜恤和丰盛的慈爱赐给他们的。
8他说：“他们诚然是我的百姓，不行虚假的子民。”这样，他就做了他们的救主。
9他们在一切苦难中，他也同受苦难，并且他面前的使者拯救他们。他以慈爱和怜悯救赎他们。在古时的日子，常保抱他们，怀揣他们。
The Fruit Of The Spirit Is Kindness
“I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us. . . .” – Isaiah 63:7
Kindness can be described as a friendly, generous, considerate disposition toward others. But, sadly, this trait can be elusive in our everyday world—especially where there is a lot of competition. When we look for kindness in our world, we can find it, but we also tend to find a lot of unkindness.
Isaiah tells about the kindnesses of God and all that the Lord has done for us. Already in the garden of Eden we see the kindness of God to our first parents. God had warned Adam and Eve of the dire consequences of disobeying his command. When they disobeyed anyway, they became aware of their guilt and were afraid. But God displayed at least two great acts of kindness. First, instead of bringing about the punishment of death right away, God promised to send his Son to take on the ultimate punishment for sin. Second, God took care of Adam and Eve’s immediate needs and gave them clothes to wear. From that time forward, God’s kindness has been on display as he points to his Son, Jesus, the Savior, as the way of forgiveness, restoration, and full life forever.
Prayer
Kind God, move us to see your kindness today, and guide us to find ways to reflect your kindness to others as we forgive those who wrong us and seek to lead them to your wholeness. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
