Love is…Kind
The Gentle Strength of Grace
So, Paul writes love is kind, not as a mere description of good manners or sentimental virtue, but as a revelation of love’s inner character. In the Greek, the word is chrēsteuetai (χρηστεύεται), a rare verb in the New Testament from chrēstos (χρηστός), meaning "to be made useful," "benevolent," or "gracious." But its roots go even deeper, evoking a texture of love that is active, humble, and deeply attuned to the good of the other.
Chrēsteuetai is not merely the opposite of cruelty, nor is it merely softness. It is love in motion, love taking shape in acts of helpfulness, in unexpected warmth, in a readiness to bless even when there is no reciprocation. It is love that stoops without condescension, that serves without seeking applause. If makrothymia teaches us that love can endure long, chrēsteuetai shows us that love does not merely endure, it blesses while it waits.
At its heart, chrēsteuetai reflects a character deeply tuned to the mercy of God. The word chrēstos is used in other places to describe God Himself. In Romans 2:4, Paul writes, "Do you not realize that God’s kindness [chrēstotēs] is meant to lead you to think beyond your present thinking?" Divine kindness is not manipulation in soft clothing; it is the unforced offering of goodness that draws us, not by shame or threat.
To say that “love is kind” is to affirm that true love is never indifferent. It is always oriented toward the good of the other. Kindness listens. Kindness gives room. Kindness sets aside the need to win or be right. It can wash feet, it can serve the poor, it can give without restraint, it can bear the pain of others.
In Christ, chrēsteuetai becomes visible. We see it in His touch upon the leper’s skin, in His defence of the woman caught in adultery, in His provision for the hungry crowd, and in His washing of the disciples’ feet. We see it again on the cross, as He forgives those who crucify Him. There is no harsh edge in His mercy, no bitterness beneath His care. In grief or rebuke, His love is still kind.
The kindness of love is not confined to the grand gesture. More often, it is the small, unnoticed act, a word withheld to avoid wounding, a door held open, a cup of water offered without fanfare. It is the habit of making space, of choosing understanding over judgment, of seeing the sacred in the other. Philippians 2:3-4
Kindness is not weakness. It is the inner strength to lay aside self-interest, the courage to be tender in a world that prizes dominance. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”[1]
There is a beauty in the kindness that forgets itself. When Jesus speaks of those who clothed the naked, visited the prisoner, and fed the hungry without even knowing they had done so, He reveals a true wonder: that the deepest acts of kindness arise not from calculation, but from a heart so saturated with God's presence that mercy becomes instinctive.
These are not people striving to be virtuous. They are people whose lives have been quietly transformed by Love Himself. Their kindness is not measured, their compassion not rehearsed. It flows like breath, unnoticed by the giver, life-giving to the other. This is the kindness that does not look back to see if it has been seen or weigh cost against reward, it simply gives, because love has made its home within.
May God’s kindness live in us all.
Jim Varsos
[1] Philippians 2:3-4