The Fruit of The Spirit - Goodness.

Welcome back to my blog. Today, we are looking at the sixth characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit which is goodness!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” - Galatians 5:22-26.

- We learn more about the fruit of the Spirit in this scripture. We learn that there is not just one characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, but we learn there are quite a few characteristics. It may seem overbearing, but once you are able to master one fruit of the Spirit, the other characteristics will fall into place naturally as The Holy Spirit leads us and works through us. I believe this is why the word ‘fruit’ was used and not ‘fruits’ because once you have one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, you will be able to access and exhibit the other characteristics also because they work together.

- It becomes up to you to continuously nurture the fruit of the Spirit and to try not to do anything opposing God’s word that may cause you to not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Dying to self daily, seeking God’s face and genuinely striving to have a closer walk with God will help you along the way. With that said we are all human beings and we all have the tendency to slip up at times, but because of God’s grace and mercy we can come to Him with a repentant heart. However, we must be sincere and know that we have the assurance that our Father in heaven will forgive us our trespasses, so long as we forgive those who trespass against us.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” - Ephesians 5:8-10.

We no longer walk in darkness, we walk in the light because we know that we are children of the most High. There is a high calling on our lives where we can walk with our head held high knowing that we are loved and have been redeemed by our Saviour. Walking in the light means that we no longer cling to who we once were, words we once said or things we once did. We walk differently because we strive to make our Father proud. We care little of what the world says and more about what God says. The love He has for us is one we can search the world for, but we will not be able to find such because God loves us differently!

__________________________________________________________________________________

So, what does goodness actually mean?!

The dictionary definition of goodness is:

goodness /ˈɡʊdnəs/

1. the quality of being morally good or virtuous. "a belief in the basic goodness of mankind"

Now, that you know what the dictionary definition of goodness is. Can you think of someone in the bible who consistently demonstrated goodness in all that they did?! I can!

Jesus is a perfect example of someone who was virtuous. No matter what Jesus encountered here on earth, He remained good to others. He remained loyal, humble and steadfast in all that He did. When I think of Jesus I always smile because He really endured it all, just so that you and I could have eternal life. He did not have to, but He did.

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.” - ‭‭Luke‬ ‭23:34‬.

Goodness is also another reflection of the character of our Father in heaven. We have a very loving, kind Father who is so gracious to us despite our many flaws. Our Father loves us so much that He sent His son to the cross to die for you and I. There is no greater love than the love that our Father has for us.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” - John‬ ‭3:16-17‬.

Why were we created to do good works?

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”- Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬.

As daughters of the Most High we should seek to display goodness and do good works not for praise from man, but because we genuinely want to please our Father. There is never a need to boast about how good we are or what we do for others because we do not live for the approval of others. There is nothing “good” about boasting, it is prideful and God does not like prideful behaviour.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” - Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬.

We all have our own purpose on this earth to do the work God has called us to do and in doing so we shall help others to come to know and love Christ. Our lives should be an example to not just our children, but to everyone we meet. Being the light of the world means we should stand out, we should not look like everyone else because there should be something different about us. Something that makes people stop and think, “wow, that woman is really special. Look at how she talks to others, she is so kind!” It is not through our own works, but through the works of the Holy Spirit guiding us and helping us to be better daily.

Ruth and Naomi.

I reflect on the story and in particular the exchange between Ruth and Naomi when Naomi was bidding farewell to her daughter in law Orpah. Unlike Orpah, Ruth decided to stay. She demonstrated that she would not leave Naomi alone.

“And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.” - Ruth‬ ‭1:14-18‬.

Ruth could have gone back to her people in Moab, but she chose to denounce their false idols and worship our Father in heaven. When she did that she chose to show respect to God.

Ruth could have allowed her situation to make her bitter, she could have given up and just not bothered to do anything, but she saw that Naomi was already downhearted and needed someone. So, Ruth chose to stay with her and never forsake her by returning to her own country. She followed Naomi to Bethlehem to start a new life together.

Ruth the Moabitess went straight into the field to glean. Ruth was a grieving woman just like her mother in law, she had lost her husband. She could have called herself ‘Mara’ like Naomi too meaning bitter, but she did not. Ruth went to work, so that she could provide for herself and her mother in law.

What we learn from the story of Ruth and her loyalty to Naomi?

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” - Proverbs‬ ‭18:24‬.

I observed the following from the story of Ruth and Naomi.

1. Goodness.

2. Loyalty.

3. Compassion.

4. Kindness.

5. Diligence.

6. Faithfulness.

7. Patience.

Reflect on some scriptures relating to gentleness:

1. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”‭‭ - Galatians‬ ‭6:10‬.

2. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” - 2 Peter‬ ‭1:5, 7-9‬.

3. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” - Psalm‬ ‭37:3‬.‬‬

We have this promise, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:9‬. Holding on to this promise and many of the others in the bible will help us to remember that we are just passing through this life. The world is not our home, the things we encounter on earth will no longer affect us once we are caught up to meet our Father in heaven, but for now we must endure with God holding our hands and guiding us.

1. Speak to others with kindness and treat them the way you would desire for someone to treat you. If you would not like someone to be rude to you, then avoid being rude to others.

2. Take the time to reflect on every situation before you respond. Pray - think - act.

3. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.

4. Die daily to self and keep trusting in the Lord.

Be of good courage Mamas.

I encourage you all to walk with peace in your hearts, know the truth and share the gospel with others.

Did you find any scriptures on goodness that you would like to share?

What are your thoughts on the following? Comment down below and let’s talk!

1. Which verses stuck out to you?

2. Why do you think goodness is so important?

3. Do you think we can live in a world without goodness?

4. What can help us to display more goodness?

5. Why should we actively work on exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit as believers?

With Love,

Roxanne-Sasha x