#82. Christian Living 101
Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lamp stand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”
II Kings 4: 8-10 NKJV
When I started college, I had to take many ‘101’ classes. They were introductory and foundational courses which my education would be built in the following years. In Principles of Finance (Finance 101), we were taught basics such as Assets – Liabilities = Equity. A class on asset valuation or distressed credit would be of little benefit to a student who didn’t know how a balance sheet functioned. We see a similar concept in the Christian life.
What profit is there in expounding the mysteries of the Scripture on various topics such as assurance of salvation and perseverance of the saints if one does not have the foundations of the Christian life? What are the foundations of Christian living? What does the Christian life look like?
There are many ways we could answer this question but what better answer than that given to us by the Shunammite woman? She was given over to kindness to the Lord’s prophet and full of good works. Kindness! What would you think of someone claiming to be a Christian, expounding on the presence of the Lord in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, who was rude, mean, self-centered, and given to pride? The confession would not match up with the life. A consultant on asset valuation who didn’t understand the balance sheet equation would be considered a fraud. What about a Christian who is not given to kindness?
The Shunammite woman fed Elisha, sheltered him, developed a plan to house him and presented it to her husband. “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). As she cared for Elisha’s physical nourishment with food she began thinking of ways she could provide even further care to the man of God. She did not consider it a burden but seems to have rejoiced in serving the Lord in this way. She was given over to kindness and is notable for this very reason.
If we say kindness is the foundation of Christian living, would we be slipping into moralism? Is mere kindness the essence of Christianity? What about the Mormons, Roman Catholics, Buddhists, and many other religious practices that espouse kindness? Is that all Christianity is? Is that all the Shunammite woman is an example of, moralism? No, the kindness of the Christian is foundational because of its source.
“And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). The kindness that was the foundation of the Shunammite woman’s care for Elisha was not mere moralism but was a response to a work done within her. Christian kindness is unlike any other kindness because of the reason for which it is shown. The essence of a Christian is that he has been saved from his sins by Christ his Savior. What greater kindness has been showed than this, that Jesus Christ came and died for wretched sinners such as me? No greater love exists than this, that one would lay down one’s life for a friend. And yet Jesus laid down His life while we were still sinning against Him. So the Christian is one who has tasted, seen, experienced, and received this saving kindness of Jesus Christ. In response to such kindness, the Christian is kind to others, tender hearted, forgiving one another.
Because of the kindness of the Lord to the Shunammite woman, she showed kindness to Elisha in a notable way. Because of the kindness of the Lord to the Christian, the Christian must be known for his kindness. When someone comes to me asking how to evaluate the credit worthiness of a company, I do not start with discounted cash flow analysis but with the basics of cash, debt, profit, and balance sheets. Before we can go on to the deeper things of the Lord, the foundation must be in place. If one knows not how to be kind, how can one move on to the deeper things of the Lord? Let us learn from the great kindness of this notable woman, “on [whose] tongue is the law of kindness” because she has been forgiven of her sins.
Brothers and sisters, “be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” This is the foundation of Christian Living.
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