We’ve been working on the fruits of the Spirit for a few weeks and you’re probably thinking it will never end. Take heart — we’re over half-way through! The beauty of the fruits is that none of them cost us a penny, they cost much more, our hearts. All these fruits reflect the character of God, all things we could not be without Him. None of these fruits are a result of this world. If they are present without the Spirit living within, they are superficial and disingenuous. When the winds of life blow, without the Spirit abiding within us, these fruits will be temporal. If we are not powered by God, we are powered by another god of this world, namely, ourselves.
Every step on God’s pathway represents a deliberate choice to follow Him.
Charles Stanley
Next up on our exploration of the marks we leave behind on our life path, you know the feathers we drop, is the fruit of goodness. Remember this is very similar to the fruit of kindness, but the fruit of goodness is not quite the same. The difference is slight but evident. You’re probably thinking the same thing that I did – well I’m a good person, I do good things, you know — it’s all good. Good is a hard word. Hard to define. Hard to live.
Goodness, the act of being good. So, what is it? Dictionary.com has more than 49 definitions for the word good. Some are — satisfactory, morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, pious, kind, high quality, high moral standard, excellence, satisfaction, approval, the extent to which something is right or wrong, it speaks to conduct, it is the opposite of bad and the opposite of evil.
The word good or goodness, is used over 100 times in the Bible. Biblical definitions of good or goodness are — a good thing, honorable, upright and acceptable to God.
The Greek word for good agathos means – inherently (what’s within us) good; as to the believer, it is goodness that originates from God and is only powered by Him through our faith in Him. Hang in there, I’m getting to the point, I promise. Agathos is closely related to the Greek word kalos. The definition of kalos makes it all clear. Kalos — beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble, honorable character; good, worthy, honorable, noble, and seen to be so.
What in the world does all that mean? Well, actually, it’s out of this world! Goodness means the good within us, that can only come from God, being outwardly revealed by who we are and what we do! Goodness is an outward sign of our inward heart. Phew-wee-baby, it took a while to get around to that, didn’t it?
He gave His only son…
John 3:16
God’s heart was revealed in the giving of His Son, the outward sign of His inward heart. God’s goodness was revealed in the giving of His Son. The fruits of the Spirit are the attributes of God. As followers of Christ we must reflect those attributes, including the fruit of goodness. So how’s your heart? Is your life an outward sign of your inward heart? Is that good or bad?
Wednesday
Read 2 Corinthians 5. Verses 1-9 are more talk about new clothing. Since Bible folks wore robes, the references to new clothing are significant to me. They all essentially wore the same thing. I would think changing, and putting on new clothes, would be radical to them. Change your clothes – what do you mean change my clothes – be different – seek eternity – God has prepared us for this and as a promise, a guarantee, He has sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. It always goes back to Who is living within us. The fruits of the Spirit are dependent on the Spirit!
Thursday
Read again 2 Corinthians 5. Check out verse 10. Scary!?! But true. We will all stand before God and receive what we deserve for the good or evil we have done here on earth. Truth. Eternal life is a free gift but it doesn’t free us “to” it frees us “from” which frees us “to.” Huh? Eternal life frees us to do good because we have been freed from evil to do good. Get it? We will all stand before Christ but free will allows us to choose how it’s going to go down. We cannot talk about God’s goodness without also acknowledging our evilness and our need to change clothes.
Friday
Read Psalm 86. God’s goodness is not dependent on circumstance. God is just not good in good circumstances, God is good all the time. God is not just present when things are going good. God is present all the time showing us His goodness in our bad circumstances.
Saturday
Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. More talk of change. More and more like Him. More and more fruit to live – more and more good within so that there can be goodness without. Proverbs 27:19 is a great reminder – memorize it.
Sunday
Read Romans 12. Verse 2 tells us by changing the way we think that we will know what God wants us to do. We will see how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. We will see how good God is. A changed mind will mirror God’s image.
Monday
Study Romans 12. Make a list from these verses of ways we can reflect God’s goodness. You know the “dos” and the “bes.”
Tuesday
Pray today that God will open up opportunities for you to reflect his image to others. Pray that God shows you ways today to leave on your life’s path the fruits of goodness, the feathers of goodness to drop along the way, the outward signs of your inward heart. A heart for good. A heart for God.