Note: This blog is part of a Thanksgiving series of blogs highlighting attributes of God for which I am thankful.

Have you ever been kind to someone because you had to be? Or because it was to your best advantage to be?

I have.

But God’s kindness to me (and there is a lot of it!) is prompted by a higher, purer motive—love.

That’s right. God is kind to me because He loves me. It’s called lovingkindness.

Perhaps you have heard that the God of the Old Testament is harsh. Vindictive. Angry. 

Actually, the word lovingkindness (which I believe is one of the most beautiful words in the entire Bible) is found twenty-nine times in the Old Testament. This word tells us that God’s abundant kindness in our lives is stimulated by His love for us.

God doesn’t have to be kind to me. He isn’t kind to me so I will do something for Him. He is kind to me because He loves me.

I’m thankful today for God’s kindness. And I’m thankful that it is stimulated by His love.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.—Psalm 36:7–8

What attribute of God are you thankful for today that begins with the letter K?