This week, Dallas looks at Josuke of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures and how his greatest weapon, kindness, is essential to the Christian walk.
As of late, Dallas has been watching JoJo’s Bizzare Adventures. It’s just the right mixture of over-the-top action, drama, and weirdness to hold Dallas’ attention. The Show itself follows the many generations of the Joestar family as they encounter various trials involving demons, vampires, and other crazy things.
In part 4 of the series, Diamond Unbreakable, the story revolves around Josuke Higashikata. Around the 3rd and 4th episode, Josuke encounters a pair of brothers who are up to nefarious things. Amid the fight, the oldest ends up shooting and nearly killing the younger brother, Okuyasu Nijimura, and being utterly dismissive about it. Josuke then has to save the younger brother and himself at the same time. Out of this conflict, Okuyasu is confused by Josuke’s kindness. He can’t comprehend why he would be willing to help someone who was trying to kill him. A fruit of this kindness was Okuyasu making a change in his life and joining forces with Josuke. Beyond that, it caused Okuyasu to open up to him and reveal the pain he had suffered that led him to this point.
This leads us to an interesting conversation; the power and effect of kindness. There’s a lot of unkindness that takes place in this world. Unfortunately, a lot of unkindness that happens is perpetrated by those claiming to represent Jesus. But the reality is that kindness an essential aspect of the Christian walk and a powerful tool in the Kingdom of God. Take a look at the following verse.
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
In context, this verse speaks of God’s kindness to people the opportunity to turn away from sin and follow Him. But that kindness of God isn’t limited to just “hey, you have time,” but it also is manifested through the people of God in how they interact and treat others. We, as Christians, are agents of God’s kindness. When we do life with other individuals, we should be intentional about showing them the kindness and love of God.
In JoJo’s, Josuke, even though he had issues with these guys, he went out of his way to show them kindness. To summarize, he said, “yes, this is wrong, but allow me to help you to find a better way.” I feel like this is a pattern of dealing with others that many in the modern church need to grasp. Some people in the church have used the offensiveness of the Gospel (and yes, it is offensive to those who don’t repent) to be a jerk to others. For that, we say sorry, and we challenge those in the church; to stop that. That’s not how we should act.
In John 4, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well. In this encounter, he showed her unfathomable kindness. In our 2021 worldview, we may not fully understand the depth of kindness. He not only showed her kindness, but it was a great kindness. In that time frame, Jesus should not have even spoken to her. He had every right to ignore her, shun her, and even demand that she leave the well at once. Yet, He took time to talk with her and speak to deeper issues that were going on. His kindness not only led to her repentance but led to the repentance of many others.
If we take the time to love people, be kind, and allow them to open up to us, we will be allowed to present hope, grace, and true freedom. This leads us to our challenge for the week.
BE KIND to others. Be kind to people you dislike or those who have a lifestyle you disagree with. Don’t use the offensiveness of the Gospel to be a jerk. Doing that only pushes people away from the hope that Jesus has for them. You are pushing them away from the Gospel.