阅读经文 

我们可以把恩慈形容为以友善、慷慨、体贴待人。不过，可悲的是，这种性情特质往往在我们日常生活中难以找到——特别是在充满竞争的环境中尤为罕见。我们若定意在世上寻找恩慈，或许可以找到一些，但遗憾的是，我们更容易找到的往往是无恩慈的行为。

以赛亚提到神的恩慈和祂为我们所做的一切。在伊甸园里，我们早已看到神对始祖的恩慈。神已经警告过亚当和夏娃，违背祂的命令会带来严重的后果。然而他们还是违背了，他们晓得自己做错了，继而感到惊慌。然而，神至少在两方面向他们展开了伟大的慈爱行动。第一，神没有立即以死亡来惩罚他们，祂反而应许会差祂的儿子来背负对一切罪行最终的刑罚。第二，神照顾亚当和夏娃当前的需要，为他们预备了遮体的衣服。从那时起，神一直在向我们显明祂的恩慈，祂表明祂儿子耶稣是拯救赦罪、重建关系、获得丰盛永恒生命的道路。

Kindness can be described as a friendly, generous, considerate disposition toward others. But, sadly, this trait can be elusive in our everyday world—especially where there is a lot of competition. When we look for kindness in our world, we can find it, but we also tend to find a lot of unkindness.

Isaiah tells about the kindnesses of God and all that the Lord has done for us. Already in the garden of Eden we see the kindness of God to our first parents. God had warned Adam and Eve of the dire consequences of disobeying his command. When they disobeyed anyway, they became aware of their guilt and were afraid. But God displayed at least two great acts of kindness. First, instead of bringing about the punishment of death right away, God promised to send his Son to take on the ultimate punishment for sin. Second, God took care of Adam and Eve's immediate needs and gave them clothes to wear. From that time forward, God's kindness has been on display as he points to his Son, Jesus, the Savior, as the way of forgiveness, restoration, and full life forever.