The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness

This week I’ve been writing about the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus warned us that not everyone who claims to be His follower truly is. He told us that we can recognize someone who is Christian and who is a “false prophet” by the fruit that they bear (Matthew 7:20). Galatians 5 explains the difference between good and bad fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 says that followers of Christ should bear “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” The previous blog’s I have written have discussed love, joy, peace and patience. Today I’ll discuss the fruit of kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.

One of the beautiful qualities of God’s nature is kindness. God shows His kindness as He expresses His compassion and mercy on us. In Isaiah 54:8 God says, “With everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you.” The very fact that God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins shows us what a kind, merciful and compassionate God He is! He also shows His kindness by providing all of our needs for us like rain, food, and the joy in our hearts, (Acts 14:17), just to name a few. The Lord delights in showing kindness. In Jeremiah 9:24 the Lord says, “…I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” It is the loving-kindness of God that draws us to Him (Jeremiah 31:3). We are called to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). Since the Lord exemplifies kindness, then we also need to bear the fruit of kindness in our own lives.

A small pamphlet entitled “How the Spirit Works In and Through Believers/ The Fruit of the Spirit” by Rose Publishing describes kindness as “merciful, sweet, and tender. Kindness is an eagerness to put others at ease. It is a sweet and attractive temperament that shows friendly regard.” God saved us from sin and eternal damnation and set us free from bondage of any kind, not because of righteous things that we had done, but because of His love, kindness and mercy (Titus 3:4-5). God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms, in order to express his grace and kindness to us (Ephesians 2:6-7)! I am so thankful for His redeeming grace! It is by His grace that we have been saved, and because grace was extended to us, we need to extend grace to others. Whether we are smiling at someone we cross paths with in the grocery store, opening our home to a guest, being a good listener for someone who is hurting, or helping a stranger who is in need, we need to show kindness to others. I have mentioned 1 Corinthians 13 several times over the past few days, and I feel compelled to refer back to it again. Christians are called to walk in love, and bearing the fruit of kindness comes from walking in love. “Love is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4).”

Not only does kindness describe who God is, but goodness also describes Him. The fact that we have fallen because of sin makes it impossible for us to be “good.” We are incapable of being “good” on our own. Even Jesus said that there is no one who is truly good but God. So how can we bear the fruit of goodness, if we are fallen human beings? The answer points to Jesus. Once we commit our hearts and lives to the Lord, He makes us a new creation in Him. He washes all of the sins of our past away, and He gives us a clean slate. Through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we are able to bear good fruit, because we are God’s own chosen people, and He is working with, in and through us. Therefore, if we want to bear the fruit of goodness, we need to follow God’s commands, listen to His voice, find out what pleases Him and allow Him to lead our lives. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-10).”

“How the Spirit Works In and Through Believers/ The Fruit of the Spirit” by Rose Publishing describes goodness as being “generous and open hearted. Goodness is the selfless desire to be open hearted and generous to others above what they deserve.” This definition for goodness sounds a lot like kindness and mercy. Maybe they are all intertwined somehow. I think the point is that we need to express goodness to others, regardless of how we may feel. There may be times when someone doesn’t treat you in a loving way, rejects you, or hurts you, but we need to have thicker skin and maintain an attitude of goodness towards people, regardless of how we have been treated by them. I am not suggesting that anyone become a doormat or allow people to bully or abuse them. Boundaries are a great thing to have in this life! However, you do not have to live with a heart of bitterness, resentment, condemnation, or un-forgiveness. Jesus did not die so that we would live with sick hearts. You can choose to show goodness to others, and be the light in this dark world! Galatians 6:9-10 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Faithfulness has been described in “How the Spirit Works In and Through Believers/ The Fruit of the Spirit” by Rose Publishing as “dependable, loyal, and full of trust. Faithfulness is firm devotion to God, loyalty to friends, and dependability to carry out responsibilities. Faith is the conviction that even now God is working and acting on one’s behalf.” No matter where we have been and no matter what we have done, God is faithful! The Bible says that God doesn’t even have the ability to be faithless, because it goes against His very nature. Isn’t that encouraging and amazing! I love and appreciate the faithfulness of the Lord so much, because my past was full of faithless actions against God. Still, God never gave up on me, and He won’t give up on you! The most important decision we can make in this life is to put our faith in God. It may not be easy for us to walk in faith at times, but we have to press on, because God will always come through for His children. When you choose not to live in faith that God will provide for you, heal you, care for you, bring you through a trial, or whatever the situation may be, then you are telling God that you don’t trust Him. God won’t let you down! Have faith!

Just as the Lord is faithful, we need to bear the fruit of faithfulness. We need to be faithful to the goals that we set, to our marriages, to our responsibilities, to our word, and on and on. We need to be reliable and loyal to people around us. When we bear the fruit of faithfulness, then we expresses to God and others that we are men and women of character. In my opinion, one of the most discouraging things about people is that they can often be completely unreliable or disloyal. If you make a commitment to meet someone, be somewhere, achieve a goal, finish something, or complete a task, then be faithful by following through. If you aren’t able to follow through with someone because of something specific, then at least be courteous enough to let them know. I have often wondered why people choose not to show up or choose not to call, when they have made commitments. I think that bearing the fruit of faithfulness is extremely important. Also, we especially need to be faithful in the little things. When the Lord sees that He can trust us in little things, He will surely trust us with greater things.

Tomorrow will be the last day I’ll discuss the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Tomorrow I will blog about the last two fruit’s on the list, gentleness and self-control.