THE FRUIT OF GOODNESS
By Joy Moore

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." – Psalms 34:8 (NIV)

Throughout the history of the world, our Heavenly Father has consistently shown us His goodness. From the days of Creation when He called each of His designs "good," to the years that He provided the Israelites with manna in the wilderness (quite undeserved, might I add!), to the moment He sent His Son to earth to die for the sins of mankind, God's character has always been the essence of goodness. God is good – not evil, and whether or not we are fully aware of it, it's His goodness that allows us our very existence at all.

"How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You." -- Psalms 31:19 (NIV)

As we come to know Christ and understand His nature, we are called to reflect Him and bear the fruits of our relationship with Him: "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV).

This includes His goodness. We are called to be transformed – to become a new creation – to become good.

Goodness is, in essence, a complete sacrifice of our flesh. It means doing something for the benefit of someone else, with no promise of return for ourselves. This is one of the most difficult character traits to attain. Our flesh doesn’t want to “do something for nothing.” In most of the good things that we do, we could probably trace back to even the faintest self-serving motive…the promise of a friendship, personal pride in one’s own ability to bless someone, etc.  We want recognition; we want people to know that we are generous, thoughtful, and good. But true goodness, at its core is goodness purely for the sake of being good: no strings attached – simply Christ’s goodness flowing out of us.

I encourage you today to examine your life and discover the good things God has done for you. Perhaps you could make a list of the situations where you have witnessed His goodness at work. My husband and I did this one time, and our list was three pages long and went back several years! Days and weeks later, we kept thinking of more and more things to add to the list. It literally became a running journal of our testimony!

After you’ve acknowledged God for the goodness He brings to your life, decide within yourself to let His goodness overflow and flow through you, pure and uninhibited, to the people and situations around you. Let Him transform you wholly and completely so that you may reflect His goodness and bear the fruit of a mature relationship with Him.

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Psalms 23:6(NIV)