Struggling Spiritually? This Overlooked Habit Brings You Closer to God |03.09.25|Made For More pt.6

Who is the kindest person you’ve ever met? Maybe you think of a grandparent, or one of your first teachers in school.

Now that you’re thinking of them, what was it about them that makes you think about them as KIND? Was it the way they looked? Was it the way they spoke to you?

Chances are, the reason you think of them as kind has something to do with the way they acted, especially towards you.

And chances are, you think back fondly about them now. Grateful, even.

One person that comes to mind for me is my first-grade teacher, Ms Bay. At this point in my life, I can’t remember much about her, but I do remember the way she made me feel.

My family moved around alot when I was growing up, and when I started first grade, we had just moved, and so I was in a new school in a new city and I didn’t have any friends yet.

I wasn’t sure if I would fit in or belong, but Ms Bay made me feel welcome. She made me feel like I belonged. She gave me attention and kindness in the way she acted towards me.

And here I am, all these years later, and I’m telling you about her and I’m hoping my life has grown to exhibit some of those same qualities.

[Quote 1]

Because as the quote from Clare Pooley says, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

[Quote 2]

Or maybe you’ve heard this quote from Mark Twain, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

[Quote 3]

Or maybe you know the one from the writer of Proverbs, “A kind word turns away wrath…”

[MADE FOR MORE]

We’re over halfway through our series on the fruit of the Spirit, where we’re talking about the types of things that grow in us as God works in us and transforms us to become more and more like Jesus.

And today, we’re talking about kindness as one of the qualities that God wants to grow in you. You were made for more kindness, to be able to reflect the nature of God and spread his kindness to others.

And I don’t know if that is a new idea to any of you who are listening, that kindness is actually a spiritual issue.

I’m not sure if I thought of it that way much before. I think that I’ve always just assumed that kindness is a personality trait. Some people are naturally kind, and some people…aren’t.

But our theme verse for our series lists kindness as one of the things that grow in us as God is at work in us. Which means that every follower of Jesus can and should be growing in kindness.

But how do we grow in kindness? Is there a class to take? Are any of us too far gone to keep growing? Is it something we’re just born with?

And what are the barriers that keep us from being kind or growing in kindness? Because there is so much in the world around us that is trying to keep us from growing in the way that God wants us to grow as he works in our lives.

Well, today, I hope to help us learn one sure-fire way to grow in kindness, which therefore will help us grow closer to God. And it’s this simple principle:

[What you Focus…]

What you focus on forms you. This simple, but powerful idea is true for many areas of our lives, but as we’ll see today in our Scripture, it’s definitely true in how we grow in kindness, and therefore grow closer to God.

[REF]

So let’s open our Bibles to Luke ch 17, which can be found on p61 of the black, seat-back Bibles. As you’re finding it, this story comes near the end of Jesus’ public ministry as he’s getting ready to head to Jerusalem for the final time. He’s already garnered quite a reputation for performing healing miracles and being an incredible teacher.

And as we read this text, I want us to look at it two ways. First, I want us to ask what it shows about the character of God that we see on display in Jesus. And second, I want us to ask how we normally respond when we are met with kindness. So with that, let’s read together…

[LUKE 17:11-19]

[LUKE 17:12-13]

As Jesus is entering a village, ten lepers approach him, but stay at a distance. Now, when our modern ears hear the word, leprosy, we sometimes think of a certain type of bacterial infection that affects our appendages and can lead to really awful sores or even nerve damage to your extremities.

I remember growing up and hearing about how a leper wouldn’t be able to feel their toes anymore, which would lead to injuring themselves and then getting infected and sometimes even losing their digits.

I was horrified by this as a kid! But what you have to know is that the word “leprosy” just means “scabby, scaly, or rough” and can refer to any number of skin conditions in the ancient world.

If you’ve got a bad rash, it’s called leprosy. If you have a condition like eczema, it’s called leprosy. If you have some other anomaly of your skin, it’s called leprosy.

But because medicine wasn’t very advanced back then, and they couldn’t be completely sure which rashes are caused by an allergic reaction and which ones were contagious, ANY skin condition was referred to with that word.

And in order to protect the rest of the community, having a skin condition rendered you ritually unclean and you had to isolate from the rest of the village until you were healed of it.

Some ancient scholars tell us that lepers couldn’t come into town or go near other people, and would have to raise their hands in the air and yell, “Leper, leper, leper” in order to warn people to stay away.

If it was something that didn’t clear up right away, they would live their lives separated from their community and relying on the mercy of travellers leaving food for them.

So, if you had a little rash, and it got better, you could present yourself to the priest, offer a sacrifice to God thanking him for healing you, and return to normal life.

But if your skin condition lasted a long time? Well, then, God must have cursed you. You must have done something awful. God must hate you, so the rest of us need to steer clear.

I wonder if YOU’VE ever felt like people look at you and just judge you? I wonder if you’ve ever felt like people steer clear of you?

These lepers are on the outskirts of the village and they keep their distance from Jesus and they say, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

They refer to him as Master, which means they view him as someone of authority. They’ve probably heard the stories, and they are asking for mercy. These lepers can’t offer to pay Jesus. They can’t offer him anything. They simply bring a request.

[LUKE 17:14]

And Jesus responds with kindness. He answers their request and tells them to go and present themselves to the priest.

The only reason they would go to the priest is if they were healed. Because the priest wasn’t a healer. The priest was merely a “purity inspector.” So being sent to the priest meant that Jesus intended them to be healed.

They didn’t have to beg, they didn’t have to convince…Jesus just quickly and simply offered what they asked, he offered them mercy. He offered them kindness.

But he’s also inviting them to trust him. Because he didn’t do any fancy ritual. He didn’t wave his hands around and say a magic word. He tells them to go present themselves to the priests, and our text tells us that “as they went, they were made clean.”

As they went. They had to act in faith before they experienced the healing they asked for.

And this is very reminiscent of a story in 2 Kings 5, all about a Syrian war general named Naaman. This guy has leprosy, and hears that Israel has a prophet that can heal leprosy…

[2 Kings 5:9-15a]

Here again, we see that Naaman was invited to ACT before the healing occured. Both of these stories show that God’s kindness isn’t earned, it’s freely given. But sometimes we’re invited to put our faith into action before the miracle happens.

[God’s kindness…]

God’s kindness isn’t earned. It’s free, but these stories also show us that recognizing it actually brings deeper transformation.

Not only was Naaman healed of his leprosy, he responded in gratitude and came into faith in the God of Israel.

When we stop to reflect on the kindness we’ve received. When we turn back to focus on the kindness of God, it forms us and shapes us more than if we just keep moving on.

Because one of the biggest barriers to experiencing kindness and growing in kindness is Busyness.

The other nine lepers in our Luke story kept going. They didn’t stop to acknowledge what had happened. And whatever became of them, they DIDN’T experience the additional connection that the one leper did. They were healed, but they missed out on what the one leper experienced.

[How often…]

And I wonder, how often do we move too fast to recognize God’s kindness in our lives?

Because busyness distracts us from noticing and responding to God’s kindness. Busyness keeps us focused on what’s NEXT, instead of what is NOW.

And we’ve all experienced how busyness can rob from our ability to be present, right?

I’m imagining the parent with the never-ending to-do list. You rush from work to errands to kids’ activities to bed and do it all over again the next day.

And if you never stop to reflect on small blessings…if you never stop to reflect on the answers to your prayers you’re seeing…you miss the opportunities to grow your faith.

As a result, your gratitude fades, and your faith stalls out.

Or I’m imagining the person who is super involved in serving others, whether it’s serving here at church or serving out in the community. You keep going and doing and never pause to thank God for how he’s moving.

Over time, serving becomes a DUTY, rather than a response to God’s kindness. And that leads to a life where we receive God’s gifts…but never truly experience transformation because we never stop long enough to turn back…to reflect…to express gratitude…to be formed by the kindness of God through focusing on him.

[LUKE 17:15-16]

One leper SAW that he was healed, turned back, and praised God, falling at the feet of Jesus.

This one is different from the other nine, because he NOTICES that he is healed, and it causes him to stop and turn back to Jesus. He turns his focus to the source of his healing, and it allows him to experience something even more than healing.

[LUKE 17:19]

Jesus says, “your faith has made you WELL.” Other translations might put it as Jesus saying, “Your faith has healed you,” because the greek word used is “SOZO” which can be translated as healed, made WHOLE, or even SAVED.

Now, I know that all ten were healed, because Jesus says so, but apparently there is something different about this one. Yes, this one is seemingly the least likely to have turned back to Jesus and given glory to God because he was a Samaritan, a foreigner.

But Jesus points out that because this guy turned back and focused on him, because he demonstrated faith that JESUS was the one who was the source of healing, he experienced something even more than the physical cleansing of his skin condition.

He experienced WHOLENESS.

He experienced more than just physical healing, more than just the ability to reconnect with his community, he experienced knowing that he wasn’t HATED by God, but he was a recipient of God’s kindness and mercy.

Because salvation isn’t just about healing one part of us. The salvation that Jesus offers is about healing every part of us, picking up all the broken pieces and restoring us to WHOLENESS.

And this guy only got to experience that extra blessing and experience because he turned back. Because he turned his focus back on Jesus.

What you focus on forms you. And many people don’t focus on what God has done for them. Instead, they keep focusing on the things that HAVEN’T happened for them yet.

And when we focus on what we LACK rather than what we’ve received, that’s when BITTERNESS creeps in and blinds us to God’s kindness.

I mean, imagine if the leper had returned to Jesus and said, “Thanks for healing me and all, but WHY did I have to suffer in the first place?”

Or if he said, “Why did I have to obey you and walk in faith before being healed instead of being healed instantaneously?”

Focusing on that kind of thinking absolutely forms us, and can turn a miracle into a disappointment.

Or I’m imagining the person who chooses to keep holding on to hurt. They’ve been wounded by someone and they struggle to extend kindness to others because they feel like they haven’t received enough of it themselves.

They keep their focus on their past pain, and the focus forms them, and makes them reluctant to show mercy to others.

And all that leads to a life where we miss God’s goodness because we are too busy dwelling on what we DIDN’T get. Not acknowledging what God has done for us makes it too easy for us to risk feeling entitled or resentful rather than grateful.

But this leper shows us that when we turn back to God and focus on praising him for his kindness. When we focus on reflecting on what he’s done for us. When we practice gratitude for his kindness, we actually experience a whole different level of healing and wholeness.

Gratitude turns our hearts and opens us to more transformation.

And as we focus on the kindness of God and practice gratitude for the ways he has shown us mercy, it forms us to become more like him. We grow in the capacity to receive and celebrate kindness, which in turn grows our ability to share kindness.

[cycle 1]

I like to think of this as a cycle. We’re travelling along in life and something happens to us that is an invitation to turn towards God. Some of us might ignore it and keep going. Some of us might stop and run away.

But the invitation is to turn towards God, to turn towards him in gratitude. And as we do, as we turn towards him, he completes the circle for us, brings us full circle, gives us wholeness, which launches us out in a new trajectory.

We’re not moving along in the same direction anymore, because we’ve practiced gratitude for the kindness that God has shown us and he has formed us to become a little bit more like him, often inviting us to show kindness to others as a reflection of God’s mercy and invitation to wholeness.

What you focus on forms you, and when we focus on the kindness of God that he has shown to us, whether it’s for big things or small things, he forms us to grow in kindness.

So here’s what I’d like to suggest for each of us this week as a simple, practice takeaway to grow in kindness: say thanks.

Right now, or later in the service during prayer time, reflect back on something that God has done for you. Some act of kindness and mercy. And say thank you.

Turn your focus on God and let your gratitude help you complete the circle and grow in wholeness.

And then look for one way to demonstrate kindness this week. Maybe someone just popped into your head. Maybe you’ll think of an idea later. But identify one person to intentionally show kindness to as a reflection of what you’ve received.

You could share encouraging words with someone. You could serve someone with a kind act. You could practice generosity.

But as we practice gratitude for God’s kindness, we open ourselves up for opportunities to JOIN him in showing kindness to others.

What you focus on forms you.

So will you slow down, recognize God’s kindness, and turn back in gratitude?

When we do, we not only continue to be transformed by God, we also grow in our capacity to extend his kindness to others.

Because you were made for more kindness. And when we turn back to God in gratitude, we are turning our lives towards the creator of the universe who loves us enough to slow down and share the free gifts of grace, mercy, and kindness with us. Because he loves us. Amen.