Once we develop our child-like faith, the fruit of the Spirit should start to inhabit our being. Some fruit will be more dominate than others. The fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The more we take on the characteristics of Jesus, the more we will manifest these fruit. God shows each of these fruit to us constantly. Jesus demonstrated how these fruit looked when he walked the earth. So these fruit should be a part of our journey and of our life. The key is to realize we cannot display these fruit in our own strength. It is not humanly possible to display them on a consistent basis, but through the help of Jesus and through God’s supernatural strength we can show the fruit of the Spirit to the world consistently. The beauty is you realize it is God working his spirit within your spirit to get his work done… How AWESOME is that!?
Kindness is a fruit that is easily recognizable in people. Although sometimes mistaken as weakness and naivety, kindness takes courage and strength. It usually shows up in a person’s disposition with a smile. It may present as someone being considerate and holding a door open for you as stated in the book, Where Is God!? Blessed Are The Pure In Heart For They Shall See God. It is showing concern for our fellow man and helping them out when we can. It celebrates with others’ accomplishments and achievements in life. The world’s way of thinking is survival of the fittest. In other words, it is focused on self and likes to get tangled into competition and comparisons. Sadly, when you do not engage in these things, the world looks at you as strange. Well, God said we are a peculiar people (Deuteronomy 14:2). It is nothing like God’s word bearing true in our lives, right? It’s not always pleasant, but it rings true. However, usually one’s kindness leaves an indelible mark on people. People usually remember the kindnesses that have been shown them. Often you will hear them say, “I will never forget this” or “I will never forget what you did for me.” Kindness also usually leave people with an unforgettable feeling of someone really caring about them. It’s the same as we feel when God has shown us kindness. Sometimes God will “wink’ at us with his kindness of the favor and blessings He does in our lives. Some of them are truly unforgettable.
Satan tries to twist and corrupt the kindness that is shown in our lives. He first does this when God shows His kindness to us. Sometimes we don’t even recognize God is “winking” at us, showing himself to us. It is the beautiful FAVOR we see in our lives. When we have the child-like faith and pure heart, we can see God’s kindness to us. However, if our hearts are hard and not sensitive to God and His ways we will not see it. Satan will also plant seeds of suspension in people when kindness is shown to them. They cannot accept it and think the person wants something from them so it makes them uncomfortable. It is hard for them to accept that kindness is a characteristic of God and He uses people to manifest it.
So God is showing us kindness constantly. If you are breathing and reading this blog (smile), God is showing you his kindness. One of the blessings of COVID-19 is that is has slowed down our pace and schedules of living our every day lives. I can imagine God saying, “There are no excuses for you to give me some of your time, now.” Think about it. This pandemic is happening across the world! So we are all experiencing similar situations and circumstances. I believe the equalizer is the pandemic. So why not give God some of your time now? Ponder on his kindness towards you. Having the basics in life of food, clothing, and shelter, God is showing his kindness to you. Ponder on all of the other kindnesses God has shown you through out your life. The kindness that God bestows upon us should compel us to want to show kindness to others. Thanks again for joining me this week. Next week, we will talk about Chapter 5 in the book titled, Transformation. I’ll see you then. Stay safe from COVID-19. Love & Blessings!