“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The fifth fruit of the Spirit we will be focusing on this week is kindness.

The Greek word for kindness is xrestotes (chrestotes). The way this word is translated in the English is “kindness, goodness, excellence, gentleness.”

There are times when there are no English words that properly translate the Greek. This is one of them.

Chrestotes is derived from the Greek root word chrestos. Chrestos means: useful, profitable, well-fit for use for what is really needed, a kindness that is timely and needed.

The best way to think of this word is that chrestotes is the Spirit-produced goodness and kindness that meets a specific need. This is a useful kindness, a practical kindness that meets real needs in God’s way and in God’s timing.

It is not just feeling nice things or thinking nice things about someone. This is meeting a real need in a timely way. This kindness shows up in real person and in real presence to meet the need of another. This kindness honors God and blesses another. This kindness is how God uses Christians to be agents of blessings to another.

Not just kind thoughts or feelings. Real, tangible, needed, and useful kindness that shows up just at the right time.

Just what the doctor ordered. Except, for us, this is just what God ordered.

Looking forward to learning more about the fifth fruit of the Spirit: kindness.

“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

Uniforms.

Some sports team’s uniforms are classy. Some are…well…not so much.

Did you know Christian’s have a uniform? Yup. The Apostle Paul tells us what the Christian uniform looks like:

• compassion
• kindness
• humility
• meekness
• patience

Think about our world. Our world desperately needs Christians who are uniformed with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

The reason why these are to be the marks of the Christian’s uniform is because Christians are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved by God. Because of all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ, we are to resemble our God and our Savior.

Here’s the thing about these marks of the Christian’s uniform: you have to put it on. You have to clothe yourselves with these marks. These characteristics don’t just happen. We have to actively put them on. We have to put them on because these are foreign to our natural selves. The marks of our natural selves are the opposite of the marks of the Christian. The marks of the world’s uniform are:

• indifference vs compassion
• coldheartedness vs kindness
• proud vs humility
• superiority vs meekness
• impatience vs patience

The marks of the world’s uniform, we are born with. We don’t have to work at them. We just have them.

Just as we are intentional about dressing ourselves in the morning, we need to be intentional about putting on the Christian uniform. We have to put the marks of the Christian uniform on every day.

So, let’s get dressed! It’s game time!

“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Out of all the New Testament uses of the word “patience,” more than half of the references are of God’s patience. The other half of the references are in reference to the patience that disciples and followers of Jesus Christ based on God’s patience with us.

Because God has been long-suffering, patient, long-waiting before acting in anger and judgment with us, we are now called to practice long-suffering, patience, long-waiting before reacting in anger and judgment toward others.

Notice why we are to be patient with others. It’s because we are, and continue to be, the recipients of God’s patience toward us.

Because patience is a characteristic of God, patience is to be a characteristic of God-followers.

How do we do that? How do we practice patience?

• long-suffer
• forbear
• long-waiting before reacting

The more we practice patience, the better we become at being patient.

Let’s get practicing. Let’s get to work.