Psalm 1:3 ’He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season…’

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. – Galatians 5:22.

Goodness – a divine attribute of the Lord. He is good and He does good. The good He does flow out of His divine nature. There is no record of Jesus being wicked or bad in the Scriptures because He can’t be, it is not in His nature. You are reading this right now because of His goodness, as you wouldn’t be reading this if you were not saved by His blood! Or aren’t you? Here’s what is written in the Scriptures: Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of the Lord leads you to repentance? – Romans 2:4.

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God’s Goodness Saves

It is God’s goodness that you are saved, for salvation would have been impossible if He wasn’t good. He came to pull us out of sin, darkness, sickness and the likes. He gave us His good Spirit to indwell us so we can exude the goodness of His to our environment.

Jesus wants the world to see Him – but through His people – through you and me. Hence the importance of bearing the fruit of the Spirit. You understand that God wouldn’t come down for people to see. He came down from heaven in the flesh of Christ Jesus and now that Christ, The True Vine is dwelling in you, you are expected to bear His fruit so that the world may see Him in you! (See John 15:1)

Goodness (agathosune)

The Greek word for goodness, agathosune, means virtue, beneficence or benevolence. It means to abound in good works. Helping the helpless, clothing the naked, sharing your food with the hungry, caring for the widow and the orphan, and loving the loveless; these are all ways of manifesting the fruit called goodness. A good Christian ought to be virtuous, benevolent, and generous. Such was the habit of the early Church. The saints of old understood how to bear the fruit of the Spirit in their generation more than most Christians in our generation.

The nature of God, His very life, was imparted to them just like it has been imparted to every one of us in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. But many are distracted by the cares of this life and never pay attention to bearing fruit of the Spirit. But you are without excuse! Our heavenly Father is a good God and He requires us to be the same.

‘But if you love (only) those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good (only) to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.’ Luke 6:32,33,35.

Walking in the Spirit

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:25

Walking in the Spirit has manifold benefits. It keeps you from getting into trouble! It makes it difficult for the devil to manipulate you! More importantly, it makes it easy for you to draw closer to God! Those are just a few benefits. There is an old saint we can learn from, her life teaches us concerning the fruit of the Spirit called goodness. Here’s her story:

At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay from coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while with them. But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Acts 9:36-40. Isn’t that amazing! Dorcas got her life back because the goodness of the Lord was flowing out of her to her environment. The disciples wouldn’t have sent for Peter to raise her from the dead if she wasn’t useful to them! She was a shining model and classic example to them. This leaves you with a conclusion that your goodness can deliver you in the day of trouble. Please read that story again, meditate on it, draw goodness from the Lord and let it flow into people’s lives continually. You can have a testimony like Dorcas’ own.

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Engaging the wisdom of God to bear the fruit of goodness.

…for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. – Matthew 5:45.

God never asks you to do a thing He hasn’t made His grace available for. He tells you to love because you can. By His grace, you can! However, there are certain steps to take to make this work for you.

  1. Take out your bible and check out Dorcas’ story. Meditate on it until it sinks into the very depths of your soul. Mother Theresa learnt goodness and charitable deeds from Dorcas! See Acts 9:36-40. Philippians 4:8.
  2. Trust in God’s grace through prayer. No man can be good by himself, human efforts will fail again and again. Ask the Lord to help you and teach you to live and walk in the Spirit so that you can bear the fruit of goodness, blessing and impacting lives for God’s glory. See Acts 10:1,2.
  3. Begin to practice. Give a gift to someone who doesn’t deserve it, irrespective of race, color, religion, nationality, or political affiliation. Look for the needy around you and give them something, no matter how little. Make this a habit, and rest assured of your reward. That’s one of the many ways you can show Jesus to your world. See Luke 6:27-31.

Are you ready for God to help you bear much fruit?

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Angela Lowe, MS. Ed., LPC
Angela Lowe is a licensed Professional Counselor, trained Biblical Counselor and certified Holistic Health Coach. Her kingdom mandate is to restore God’s counsel to transform lives, marriages, and churches worldwide.