Fresh Fruit: Kindness

Fresh Fruit: Kindness

Bible Blast: Read Ephesians 4:29-32

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23

When my son, Rob, was in high school, he had to do a random act of kindness as an assignment. He and some of his buddies decided to bake cookies, knock on doors, and give them away to brighten people’s day. At one of the houses, a middle-aged mom and her teenaged daughter were home. The woman could not believe that three high school boys were doing something kind.

“Why are you doing this?” she demanded.

“It’s actually an assignment from our school, Grace Prep,” said one of them.

“We just want to show God’s love in a practical way,” said another.

She grabbed the cookies and slammed the door.

A week later, a letter arrived at the school with an apology from the woman. You see, a few weeks earlier her husband and the father of her teenaged daughter had died. That very morning she and her daughter had prayed, “God, if you really see us and our pain, please show us in some simple way today.” It was a desperate cry for hope. And God heard it. The woman just wanted to say thanks and to note that “no one shows kindness like that these days,” so she knew that what they had done was from God.

Being kind to other people is a way of recycling God’s kindness to us. Ephesians 4:31-32 says that we need to “get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

In a world where many people are mean, kindness really stands out.

Girl Gab: Plan your own random act of kindness. What act of kindness can you do for someone? Does someone need his driveway shoveled? Could you take an ill woman’s dog for a walk? Is there a mom who really needs a night out but doesn’t have the money for a babysitter? Plan your act of kindness and follow through on the plan. Just something simple can make a big difference.