Tag Archives: kindness

Friday’s Fruitful List

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The Bible lists nine fruit of the Holy Spirit. I find it interesting that it is fruit not fruits; singular not plural. Appears God desires for us to display all of His attributes; not pick and choose. It should be our prayer for all of the Holy Spirit’s presence to be shown in our life.

  1. love
  2. joy
  3. peace
  4. patience
  5. kindness
  6. goodness
  7. faithfulness
  8. gentleness
  9. self-control

Jesus said we would be known by our fruit.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit...Matthew 12:33

Two things I note about fruit.

First, for a tree branch to bear fruit it must be attached to the tree. Cut apart from the tree, it will soon wither and die. Jesus told us:

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

So, we cannot on our own display with any consistency the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That is the beauty of it. We do not have to work hard and strain to be loving, have joy, self-control etc. When we “stay in the vine” we will produce the fruit as naturally as an apple tree produces apples.

Second, the purpose of fruit is to provide nourishment for those who pick the fruit. Sometimes I think we feel having fruit of the Spirit is to make us some wonderful Christian. But I think the purpose is to provide love, joy, peace etc. to those around us who need it.

I pray I will have the love of God so those I meet who need someone to show love will find it in me. I pray I will have the joy of God so those I meet who may be discouraged will be encouraged by what I say or do. I pray all of the fruit will be shown in my daily life as I meet others so that I can be an encouragement, maybe provide a challenge, certainly show the character of Jesus to others.

Going the Extra Mile

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Nike created a tennis shoe they called “The Extra Mile” and their ad campaign said:

We take the extra steps to chase something bigger. Even better…we go the extra mile.

However, Nike was not the first one to share the idea of going the extra mile. While Nike was suggesting we get out there and move and physically run/walk more, Jesus challenged us to pursue something greater than just another mile on our walk/run.

He said in Matthew 5:41:

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

What exactly did Jesus have in mind when He made this statement? The Greek word used here refers to someone being forced to help someone. Jesus was talking about a common practice at that time. According to Roman law, any Roman soldier could order a Jewish civilian to carry the soldier’s baggage, often his heavy armor, for one Roman mile.

Obviously, this practice was resented by the Jewish people. But instead of resenting it, Jesus said to carry it one more mile.

So it is with us. Many times we are offended, hurt and we harbor resentment toward the one who has harmed us. Jesus is saying we need to deal with our resentment and go the extra mile. To seek peace and offer forgiveness. This verse was part of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus added that we are to love our enemies, pray for them and not turn anyone away if we can meet their need. All of these require us to go the extra mile.

Many times, we are quick to remember when someone has offended us, but we need to ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of times when we may have offended someone else. Going the extra mile may require us to be humble and reach out and say, “I am sorry.”

May God help us to be people that will seek to go that extra mile in offering forgiveness, understanding, love and devotion in our marriages, with our children, our parents, our neighbors and yes – especially with that person whose opinions and beliefs are so opposite of ours.