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Intimacy with God  /  Chapter 11: Christian Perfection  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 3
The chapter links becoming “part of the goodness of God’s care” with being “long-suffering” and forgiving “both the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45); what picture of God’s character is assumed here, and where do you feel resistance to extending kindness toward the “unjust” in concrete situations?
Another way to ask: This chapter links God’s care with being patient and kind even to the “unjust.” What does that say about what God is like, and where is it hardest for you to show that kind of kindness in real life?

Direct Answer The transcript assumes God is generous in kindness even toward those who don’t deserve it, and Christians imitate that by forgiving and being long-suffering toward both “just and unjust.” Resistance shows up wherever we feel someone’s wrong disqualifies them from our patience and kindness.

Support from Transcript:

  • The path to sharing God’s goodness is relational imitation: “to become, as far as possible, part of the goodness of God’s care.”
  • The method is explicitly stated: “by being long-suffering and by forgiving both the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).”
  • The image of God’s indiscriminate kindness is used: “You become like the sun, shining beams of kindness on others through your words and deeds.”
  • This kindness is expressed verbally and practically: “through your words and deeds.”
  • The definition of perfection later repeats forgiveness and forgetting injuries as central practices.
Discussion Follow-ups Who feels “too unjust” for you to treat like the sun treats the earth? What would kindness look like that is real but not fake or enabling?

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