S4P5 – The fruit of kindness

Gal 5: 22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

There are two scriptures in which kindness and grace go hand in hand [Tit. 3:4; Eph. 2:7].  In both instances, it is a reference to God’s plan for our salvation.  In Titus, our redemption comes after the appearance of God’s kindness, among other things.  In Ephesians, we see that our eternal reward is the result of God’s grace in His kindness.  This indicates that kindness comes with a component of grace.

At a base level, grace is the extension of something not earned.  Kindness operates in the same manner.  When it is shown, kindness treats all others well irrespective of whether kindness has been shown in return.  It is the substance of the golden rule, that we treat others as we wish to be treated.  It is not to treat others as we have been or expect to be treated.

Kindness is extending grace to the ungracious, a gentle word to the angry and love to the bitter.  It is the attitude that we hope governs our behavior toward others.  But as with the other spiritual fruit, we cannot muster up true kindness of our own effort.  Father, impart to us a portion of the kindness that caused you to make the way for our restoration so that we may share it with others.