But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions
and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the
Spirit. (Galatians
5:22-25 ESV).
We are introduced to a
woman named Tabitha (Dorcas) “was always doing good and helping the poor” (cf.
Acts 10). She was best known for her many acts of goodness. As we see in the
Scripture, when she suddenly became sick and died, the apostle Peter asked God
to bring her back to life. God did raise her from the dead. Her many acts of
goodness resulted in many people believing in the Lord. Sometimes the best
sermons are preached through our action towards others.
We see others in the
Scripture who lived lives of goodness. Barnabas, who gave generously to the
church and helped Paul (Saul) when he needed a friend, “was a good man, full of
the Holy Spirit and faith” (cf. Acts 11:24; Acts 4:36-37; 9:27-28). Cornelius,
one of the first Gentiles (non-Jews) to believe in Jesus, was already “devout
and God-fearing,” and “he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God
regularly” (cf. Acts 10:2). God sent him a vision, telling him to invite Peter
to his house. God also sent Peter a vision, telling him to go and visit
Cornelius. So, Peter did that, and he shared the good news of Jesus with
Cornelius and with a crowd of people who had gathered at his house. And all the
people there received the gift of the Holy Spirit that day and were baptized (cf.
Acts 10).
Goodness is often
accompanied with kindness; however, it is a bit different. It is the act of
being good, doing the right thing at the right time. Both of these characteristics
are certainly in short supply in our day of polarization and division centered around
personal goals and deception. Be kind… and be good!
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