“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:6-9, NIV).
Before we begin our study on kindness, let’s look at where we’ve been so far. The Apostle Paul wrote that “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV). As we live into the image of God, modeled best for us in Jesus, certain traits like the ones listed above naturally flow from our lives. To a certain extent, we as Christians can’t help but show the Spirit fruit.
Still, the truest form of each of these fruits is found in Jesus. And kindness is no exception. The grace extended to each of us from the cross of Jesus is truly a gift that we do not deserve. Yet, Jesus’ kindness made it possible.
As we put into practice kindness, may we lean on the example of Christ and his sacrifice for us. May we be motivated by love for one another as we joyfully serve. May we have peace and demonstrate patience. May there be a general goodness about us. May we be faithful to God and gentle in our manner of living. And may we always practice an extraordinary amount of self-control.
Thank you for learning about the Spirit fruit with me. May God bless you abundantly!
Chuck Kralik, Author 