The Fruit of the Spirit (5/9) – Kindness

The Lord Jesus once said that we are destined to bear fruit. Our goal in life should, therefore, be to bear lasting fruit that is so valuable to God.

Ultimately, fruit means reflecting the characteristics of the Lord Jesus. When He is seen in us, God is glorified.

In this series, we want to reflect on the individual fruits that the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More wants to work in our lives. And since our Lord is always the perfect role model (cf. Mt 11:29; Jn 13:15; 1 Pet 2:21), we will look directly at incidents from His life where these characteristics become visible.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is … kindness ..."

This term usually refers to the character trait of God that led him to save people (e.g. Eph 2:7; Rom 2:4; Tit 3:4).

Kindness is, therefore, the endeavor to show smaller or larger favors to another person. It has to do with love and helpfulness.

A kind believer is able to do good to others without asking for anything in return (Luke 14:12), to lend money without expecting it back (Luke 6:34, 35), and to greet everyone in a friendly manner, even if they look at you harshly.

Kindness means behaving in such a way that our peers "see your good worksAnother word for deeds or actions. God's works are perfect (Gen 1:31), men's can be good works (Matt 5:16) or dead (Heb 6:1). On the basis of his works, unbelieving... More and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:16). Kindness is lighting a fire for someone cold and preparing a bed for someone homeless (Acts 28:2). Kindness is having a good, benevolent heart – and showing it.

Examples of kindness from the life of the Lord that we can learn from:

• The Lord Jesus went about doing good and healing (Acts 10:38), always looking for those who needed help.
• The Lord Jesus cared for those in need even when the busy day was long over, and He was surely tired (Mark 1:32-34).
• The Lord Jesus saw the hunger of thousands of people and cared for them (John 6:5).
• The Lord Jesus comforted the broken hearted (Lk 7:13).
• The Lord Jesus cared for outcast, unpopular, sinful people (Jn 4:1-30).
• The Lord Jesus cared for someone for whom no one had had an eye for 38 years (Jn 5:5-8).