Living a Fruitful Life – that is the abundant life we’re promised through faith in Jesus Christ. Through His indwelling Spirit, we grow to become more like Him and that is evident in the fruitful life we lead.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23, 25
Last time, I shared what I learned from my study of the fruit of the Spirit using the devotional kit from Illustrated Faith for the month of May called Living a Fruitful Life. The author of the devotional is Shanna Noel; the owner and founder of Illustrated Faith. For more background on the devotional and to read the first part of my reflections, see the previous post: Living a Fruitful Life, Part 1.
As there are nine attributes, I choose to split my reflections into two posts so that they wouldn’t be too long. In the previous one, I went over love, joy, peace, and patience. In this second half, I’ll share about kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Kindness
Shanna describes kindness as what comes from a heart posture of generosity. That is, true kindness is generous, not selfish or done with the expectation of receiving in return.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
To be kind means to be merciful, compassionate, and forgiving.
It’s to be like our God is in the kindness that He bestows upon us. He does this because that is His nature and we are called, as His children, to be kind always simply because that is our new nature in Christ. As such, kindness requires goodness. It requires being connected to the Holy Spirit and being obedient to His leading.
To be kind means to be gentle, pleasant, and useful to others.
It was illuminating to me to learn that kindness is about more than “being nice”. It’s being useful or helpful to others in a pleasant way such that the help is received and has the desired effect. This certainly changes the kind words we speak – are they communicated to build up, uplift, and encourage the recipient in an effective way? And our actions – are they actually beneficial? Taking it further, what of our thoughts and actions toward ourselves – are they kind? Are they based in truth, helpful, effective, and beneficial?
Goodness
Shanna tells us that “biblical goodness begins with a heart surrendered to God”. This heart then receives His promised goodness and becomes a “conduit of His grace and mercy, showing kindness, compassion, and generosity” to those around us.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:1, 6
Goodness is excellence and virtue which comes from God.
He gives us what is good – what is pleasant, agreeable, and appropriate for us. He does this for His name’s sake – He said that He would be our Shepherd, leading us in righteous paths, and He will do it!
As our Good Shepherd – leader, tender ruler, and teacher – He leads us to restorative rest in Him. We grow in this attribute by following His lead with trust.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness, according to Shanna, is “about loyalty, steadfastness, and being true to our word. It’s a reflection of our understanding and experiencing God’s unwavering faithfulness towards us.”
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations
Deuteronomy 7:9
Faithfulness is being steadfast in faith; in having confidence, belief, and trust in God.
It requires patience and peace, goodness and love. To be faithful means to be reliable and trustworthy to do what we said we would do simply because that’s who we are. It is evident in our lives by our obedience to God’s word motivated by love and true belief.
Gentleness
For this attribute, Shanna encourages us to look at the example of Jesus whose gentleness “flows from a heart of deep love and empathy”. Gentleness is about seeing people as beloved by God and therefore worthy of being treated with love and dignity.
walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love
Ephesians 4:1-2
To be gentle is to be meek and mild.
Shanna describes gentleness as a strength and it is because it enables us to know our power yet choose to respond with the might of love not hate. Gentleness seeks to help with compassion stemming from wisdom. Therefore, gentleness requires patience and kindness, and self-control to do so with humility.
Self-control
I love how Shanna describes self-control, and that is it’s not about saying no to what’s harmful, but saying yes to our new identity in Christ. “It’s about stepping into the fullness of who God created us to be: confident, empowered, and filled with His love and Spirit”. Yes and amen!
Self-control is self-restraint or mastery of self.
It’s choosing to walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. Growing in this attribute enables us to go to God before responding, instead of reacting. By His Spirit, we are able to choose to honour God above our own desires. While self-control is required for peace, and peace for joy, both peace and joy make it easier to be self-controlled.
God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7
As Shanna puts it, “self-control allows us to freely follow Jesus”. It leads us to not live a life of fear but one that is disciplined and prudent according to His ways. As such, to be self-controlled, we need wisdom and faithfulness. I’m so thankful for His faithfulness!
I have really enjoyed studying the fruit of the Spirit in this way and I hope you’re encouraged by what I’ve shared. You can check out the #IF_FruitfulLife hashtag on Instagram for more inspiration. Also, visit IllustratedFaith.com for the kit (if still available), the digital version and/or any related products. Stay tuned for the Summer Camp (June and July) devotional recap coming soon!
