But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control.
With the beginning of a new year upon us now, I
cannot help but to focus on so much of the goodness of what God has
blessed me with in the past year. If I were to try to list all the ways
God has shown His goodness to me, it would take many devotionals. God's
goodness is far beyond my comprehension and something I simply cannot give
completely back to Him. His goodness exceeds anything I could possibly
give out. However, He has instructed me to show goodness toward others.
Doing things for people and helping out in times of need. Simple things
and big things. I desire to show goodness toward others and that is how I
want to live my life of servanthood for Christ.
Can you meditate for a while on God's goodness in
your life? If we are not mindful of the ways God has showed His goodness
to us, it is quite hard to comprehend showing goodness to other people.
Showing goodness is a lot like showing kindness toward others. It is hard
to do both sometimes, but we must remember who we are in Christ and that
He has sent us to show others His love.
I would encourage each of us in this new year to
make a conscious effort to show goodness toward people who we see are in
need. Show goodness to someone who needs a hug. Show goodness to
someone who needs to hear something funny for a cheer up. Show goodness
to someone who needs a listening ear. Show goodness to someone who needs
a trustworthy friend.
It is so vital, now more than ever, to show God's
goodness to a world that is lost in sin and needs Jesus Christ. Will you
be that vessel to show His goodness to others?