As Jesus went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God.

You’re walking down the street, probably on your way to work. Then, a car speeds pass and splashes water on you and you exclaim, “Oh, my goodness!” You also hear others like; “Goodness gracious!”, “My Goodness!”, “Goodness!” and so on…

Sometimes, the overuse of a word can make it lose its essence .

What then is Goodness?

The word ‘good’ means moral excellence. If you followed my introductory posts to this blog series on IG, you would have noticed that I said the fruit of the Spirit is an aspect of character.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, goodness is the quality of being good. If you asked me, I would say that this description of goodness is vague. So, for better understanding, I checked the Strong’s Bible Dictionary. It defined goodness as the uprightness of heart and life.

Good is mostly ascribed to GOD as seen in the brief introductory story (Mark 10:17 -18)and Goodness is a quality of GOD .

Did you observe that I used ‘mostly’ when talking about ‘good’ being used to describe GOD? This does not imply that we can’t be good. The Bible points out in Gal. 5:22-23 that Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit. If it is a fruit of the Spirit, then as a believer carrying the Holy Spirit within , the fruit of Goodness is produced in you.

Goodness is often played out in our actions but I want you to know that it is not just outward displays of love and kindness towards others. Goodness just like almost every other thing in the Christian walk is worked from the inside out. Loving others genuinely is worked from the inside out. Faith is worked from the inside out .Even Patience is worked from the inside out.

So, you check your heart for the motives behind those good actions of yours. If it does not tally with your heart, you might just be doing those things so people say : ‘Oh! The girl is good.’ ‘Oh! He’s such a good person.’ Acts of goodness are selfless ones. Like Jesus, who suffered on the cross just to save you and I despite all His glory and power. His motive was love and not wanting to be praised for His good works. His good works were beyond ‘good works‘ so to say. He had a good heart too hence, He is called the Good Shepherd.

The Holy Spirit dwells in as many that believe in and have accepted Christ .He produces this fruit of Goodness in them.

GOD wants us to bring glory to His name by reflecting His character. He is a Good Father and beckons on you to shine your light by living out this fruit of Goodness. He wants you to shine forth His good nature to everyone around you. Will you answer?

Remember, Goodness is not merely doing good works but having a good heart like the Good Shepherd.

I know you have been inspired. Feel free to be generous with this post by sharing to everyone you know. What is your opinion on the fruit of Goodness? Do let me know in the comment section as I always love to hear from you.

Till I come your way next Sunday!