Friday Fruit–Kindness

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)

Our series on Fruit of the Spirit continues today with Kindness.

What does kindness mean?  We tend to think of it as being a very weak word I think.  Love is strong.  Faith is strong.  Kindness… it sounds kind of wishy-washy.  Or is that just me?

The word kindness is often translated from the word Chesed, also translated as loving kindness, mercy, compassion etc.  It is an action of Strong Goodwill, not just a vague feeling.

If love is faith, then kindness is action.
Wishing someone well is love, doing something about their needs is kindness.
Loving someone in our hearts needs kindness with our hands/mouth/etc.

How do we show/grow kindness?

Practice makes perfect.

If you see a man fall into a hole, you don’t need to have the gift of helps to be or service to him, or the gift of being a great prayer warrior to pray for him, or the gift of evangelism to call others to come and help him.

You just need to be kind, and throw him a rope. Just reach out, and help him where he stands.

Kindness is how we re-act to the world, and grows out of love.

It is about showing our love to others, deserving or not. But in our own strength we would burn out. We need to be empowered, by the Spirit, for works of kindness.

What do you think kindness means?  How is it a Fruit of the Spirit?