Lesson 17: Gospel-Centered Kindness
Questions 3 and 4
The people of Israel were in captivity and slaves when God showed kindness to them. But we shouldn't think of them as innocent slaves. Ezra is a book about the completion of the second temple and the return of God's people to Jerusalem after their exile. God had exiled the Israelites because they had abandoned the one true God and had begun worshiping the idols of the surrounding pagan nations. God gave them over to enslavement by those heathen nations to give them a physical representation of what had already occurred in their hearts.
Sound familiar? When our spouse abandoned us for impurity, they essentially entered into idolatry: the worship of self and sexual pleasure. It is wickedness, and God will not allow it to go unchecked. God always disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). But even in His discipline of His children, God is kind. Indeed, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).
God granted the people a new life to rebuild and repair. Dear friend, God is kind and generous; He granted slaves new life to restore and rebuild. And as Christ-followers, we want to display this same supernatural kindness toward our spouse, even while they are captivity or if they are ungrateful.
We must make room for restoration and healing. If we are always holding our spouse’s sin over them, then there will be no healing, no new life, no restoration for them or us.
Question 4. Have you been kind and made room for restoration in your marriage? Please share.
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