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 Spirit 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 … goodness …”
Goodness is the opposite of wickedness. In Romans 5:7, Paul distinguishes between a righteous person and a good person: The righteous person is upright, honest, and straightforward – but the good person is also warm-hearted and kind. A good person is so special that you would gladly die for him. A good person is someone who often hears the sentence: “Thank you, you are so good to me!” Such a believer does the good works that the Lord has prepared (Eph 2:10). He always strives for the good in his dealings with fellow believers (1 Thes 5:15).
A good person does not allow himself to be overcome by evil but overcomes evil with good (Rom 12:21). He works good with his hands, for example, by giving to the needy (Eph 4:28). Barnabas, who excelled in comforting others, is called a “good man” (Acts 11:24).
Examples of goodness in the life of the Lord that we can learn from:
- The Lord exuded the fragrance of “goodness” wherever he went.
- The Lord Jesus was always driven by the question: “How can I do something good for this person in front of me?”
- The Lord Jesus only spoke good words, at which those around Him were amazed (Lk 4:22).
- The Lord Jesus wanted to do good all the time, even on the Sabbath, when the Pharisees actually forbade it (Mt 12:12).
- The Lord Jesus proclaimed “good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18).
- The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd who sacrifices himself for others (Jn 10:11).
