Goodness
By Elizabeth Cole
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
By Elizabeth Cole
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Galatians
5:22-23 (NIV)
We’ve been eating a lot
of fruit in our house lately. I think it might be a desperate attempt to hold
on to summer…despite howling winds, orange-hued leaves and the need for a coat!
But all that fruit has re-reminded me of what we all know: Just because it
looks good on the outside doesn’t mean it’s good on the inside. Especially
green grapes. Within the last several weeks, I’ve been literally disappointed
by “sour grapes”!
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is listing the fruit of the Spirit as examples of what Spirit-led living looks like. The Galatian church had alarmed him with news of its conflicts: theological, social and gender. So he offers them the answer to conflict: Living by the Spirit. (1) Then he illustrates it with a picture. And that bountiful harvest includes goodness.
One of the reasons I like the biblical word “goodness” is because it’s efficient…it not only describes a state of being (moral and spiritual excellence known by its sweetness), but also its results (active kindness). (2) Makes me think of those other green grapes I’ve had in my home…the ones that not only looked delectable, but tasted as good as they looked! Good fruit.
The goodness that only the Holy Spirit can produce in our lives is a goodness which flows from a rightly-movitated heart. Oh dear. That means that martyr-complex attitude after serving? Not good fruit. The unseen irritation when helping a friend? Yeah…not good fruit. The giving of resources out of obligation? Nope.
I can’t help but be dismayed when I think about authentic goodness. My first reaction is to tell myself how much I’ve got to work on that. And then Scripture reminds me: We’re not talking about my hard work; we’re talking about “fruit that is supernatural in origin (being the Spirit’s fruit) and natural in growth (being the Spirit’s fruit).” (3) It is the Spirit who produces the fruit from within me, the fruit that is evidence to other people of His residence in my life. My part? To ensure the garden of my heart has right conditions for fruit to naturally grow. Conditions of soft soil, of sowing what pleases the Spirit, of not growing weary in doing good (Galatians 6:8-9, NIV). Then the supernatural fruit naturally follows!
I’m headed to the Piggly Wiggly later today looking for a last bowl of sweet fruit. You know, the kind that looks and tastes like goodness!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Where is the Spirit at work aligning your heart and actions toward authentic goodness?
FURTHER READING:
2 Thessalonians 1:11
(1) Scott McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary, pp. 277-278.
(2) John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Galatians, p. 168.
(3) John Stott, Baptism and Fullness, p. 103.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is listing the fruit of the Spirit as examples of what Spirit-led living looks like. The Galatian church had alarmed him with news of its conflicts: theological, social and gender. So he offers them the answer to conflict: Living by the Spirit. (1) Then he illustrates it with a picture. And that bountiful harvest includes goodness.
One of the reasons I like the biblical word “goodness” is because it’s efficient…it not only describes a state of being (moral and spiritual excellence known by its sweetness), but also its results (active kindness). (2) Makes me think of those other green grapes I’ve had in my home…the ones that not only looked delectable, but tasted as good as they looked! Good fruit.
The goodness that only the Holy Spirit can produce in our lives is a goodness which flows from a rightly-movitated heart. Oh dear. That means that martyr-complex attitude after serving? Not good fruit. The unseen irritation when helping a friend? Yeah…not good fruit. The giving of resources out of obligation? Nope.
I can’t help but be dismayed when I think about authentic goodness. My first reaction is to tell myself how much I’ve got to work on that. And then Scripture reminds me: We’re not talking about my hard work; we’re talking about “fruit that is supernatural in origin (being the Spirit’s fruit) and natural in growth (being the Spirit’s fruit).” (3) It is the Spirit who produces the fruit from within me, the fruit that is evidence to other people of His residence in my life. My part? To ensure the garden of my heart has right conditions for fruit to naturally grow. Conditions of soft soil, of sowing what pleases the Spirit, of not growing weary in doing good (Galatians 6:8-9, NIV). Then the supernatural fruit naturally follows!
I’m headed to the Piggly Wiggly later today looking for a last bowl of sweet fruit. You know, the kind that looks and tastes like goodness!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Where is the Spirit at work aligning your heart and actions toward authentic goodness?
FURTHER READING:
2 Thessalonians 1:11
(1) Scott McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary, pp. 277-278.
(2) John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Galatians, p. 168.
(3) John Stott, Baptism and Fullness, p. 103.
Elizabeth is a wife, mother to three grown daughters and two sons-in-law, and Director of Connecting and Women’s Ministries at Oakwood Church.
