“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved , bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12

Nothing is more worth while, than kindness. Nothing else in life is more beautiful in itself. Nothing else does more to brighten the world, and sweeten other lives.

Robert Louis Stevenson said in a letter: “It is our kindnesses, that alone makes the world tolerable. If it were not for that—I would be tempted to think that our life is a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.”

The man whose life lacks habitual kindliness may succeed splendidly in a worldly sense. He may win his way to high honor. He may gather his millions. He may climb to a conspicuous place among men. But he has missed that which alone gives beauty to a life—the joy and blessing of being kind. There are men who are so intent on winning the race, that they have neither eye nor heart nor hand for the human needs along the wayside. Here and there is one, however, who thinks more of the humanities, than of the personal success; that woos him forward, and who turns aside in his busiest hour to give help and cheer to those who need.

There is always this difference in men. There are those who have only one purpose in life, the making of their own career. They fix their eye upon their goal, and press toward it with indomitable persistence, utterly unheeding the calls and appeals of human need which break upon their ears. They fail altogether in love’s duty. They dwarf and deaden the qualities which are divinest in their nature.

Far nobler are those who, while earnest and diligent in business—yet let the law of love rule in their lives and are ever ready to forget themselves and sacrifice their own personal interest in order to do good to others. He who leaves ‘love for others’ out of his life-plan, leaves God out too, for love is the first thing in Godlikeness.–J. R. Miller

“Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?“– John 11:26

In this single verse containing Jesus’ words, we find a statement and a question. No statement—no question—could be more important for every reader to consider.

Jesus stakes His own word and His own person on this promise — if you are spiritually alive… then you will never die. That is quite a promise! Especially in the face of all the decay, destruction, and death with which we are surrounded on a daily basis. Is it possible to escape death, to defy the laws of nature? Jesus says it is. But not in our own strength, science, or ingenuity. Only in Jesus can we access the power of a never-ending life.

If Jesus is honest, if Jesus is wise, if Jesus is good then His assurance is peace-granting, hope-infusing, and pain-relieving. Believers do not pass away, but pass on to a better and eternal and abundant life. Christians do not die; they depart for home.

For now, we cannot see or experience or test or prove the promises of Jesus. We have to trust Him — that He is not just showing us the way, but is the Way; that He not only is telling the truth, but is the Truth; that He is not only speaking of life, but is the Life.

Jesus’ question, then, could not be more important, or more pointed: do you believe Jesus? Do you trust in Jesus? To anyone, to everyone, to whomsoever puts their trust in Jesus and believes His word, the promise is yours. So live like you are going to live forever.(Baptist Bible Hour)

At our best we cannot come close to comprehending the greatness of what God, through Christ, has done for us. But sadly we generally don’t even come close to our best in this regard. That keeps us from appreciating God as much as we should. Far too many people believe that they deserve what God has done– as though their “value” compelled Him to do it. If we but saw ourselves through His eyes we would banish that thought forever. These words from David F. Wells sums it up well:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

Our sins were the cause of Christ’s sufferings!

It was our sins which smote Him, and bruised Him!
It was our transgressions which gave Christ His deadly wounds!

Every Christian may look upon Christ and say,
“I was that Judas who betrayed You!
I was that soldier who murdered You!
It was my sins which brought all those sorrows, and sufferings, and evils upon You!
I have sinned–and You have suffered!
I have been wicked–and You have died!
I have wounded You–and You have healed me!”

Oh, that we might look upon . . .
a humble Christ–with a humble heart,
a broken Christ–with a broken heart,
a bleeding Christ–with a bleeding heart,
a wounded Christ–with a wounded heart!

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.“1 Peter 2:24

Here you see that the physician’s blood became the sick man’s salve!

Here is the gospel mystery–that the wounding of One, should be the cure of another!

Oh, what an odious thing is sin to God–that He will pardon none without blood–yes, without the precious blood of His dearest Son!

Oh, what a Hell of wickedness must there be in sin–that nothing can expiate it but the best, the purest, the noblest blood of Christ!

Oh, what a transcendent evil must sin be–that nothing can purge it away but death–the accursed death of the cross!

Oh, what a leprosy is sin–that it must have blood, yes, the blood of God, to take it away!—Thomas Brooks

Yes indeed there will be “Joy to the world”! As great as eternity will be because of what it brings, it will also be great because of what it banishes– “no curse“. Dear friend, it is impossible for us to comprehend what that will be like. Let your imagination run wild and picture the best you can, and it’s better than that! As dear Bro. Nolan sings, “Heaven is better than this”! No wonder we love to sing, “What a day that will be”. When the curse is lifted we can at long last finally honestly say, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” And I close with the words of John, “Even so, come Lord Jesus“(Rev. 22:20). Are you ready?