How is kindness different from love? God shows His love to those whom He has chosen by enabling their belief, by offering them salvation, by atoning for His chosen by sacrificing His Beloved on the cross. God shows His love by bestowing blessings upon His chosen. God shows His love by selecting them for eternal life. We show love by taking care of one another, being faithful to one another, and helping one another. How do we show kindness then? Love and kindness sound so similar. They are but with one important difference, kindness can be shared with those we don’t love.

God shows His kindness in many different ways. He keeps the planet warm and habitable, sends the sun and rain at just the right times, and He provides us with water and food. This is kindness that is expressed to all life on the earth, not just His elect. God enables some to become rich and enjoy their wealth all their days on earth. This is kind in that many of them are doomed to destruction. (I don’t judge them, God does.)

One may ask then if God is so kind to those who are not His chosen, then why doesn’t he just save them anyway? If you had spent your whole life denying that there is a God, or even worse, not caring if there is a God or not, would it be kind to for you to stand before God for all eternity? To have to stand and praise God all eternity when you never believed in the first place would be very unkind indeed.

We can’t pretend to know God’s motives. Our highest love is not quite as good as His lowest kindness. How can we ever hope to understand His greatest kindness? Or for that matter, His deepest love? Emulate your Father. Show kindness to those whom you don’t love.