PATIENCE

What is Patience?

This is from a Greek word which means forbearance or long-suffering. This fruit of the Holy Spirit causes us to be more willing to suffer difficulty for others, and less needful to avenge wrongs.

1. It makes us more able to endure the imperfections of people and the world. A patient person can accommodate many provocations before reacting. We can only have patience when the Holy Spirit works through us. Job in the Bible is often put forward as a personification of patience. Job endured the loss of his possessions, children, health, and so on, but he took everything patiently. Job had the patience to wait for the unfolding of God's plan.

Jeremiah is another great example of patience in the Bible. He prophesied to the nation of Judah for 40 years, and no one listened. Instead of giving up, he wept over the foolish people who refused to turn away from their sins.

1. God's patience leads us to repentance, saves us from judgement, changes our lives and gives us salvation. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can display the same patience to others.

 

BENIGNITY (KINDNESS)

What is Benignity?

This is from a Greek word, meaning to show kindness. Kindness is doing something and not expecting anything in return. Kindness is respect and helping others without waiting for someone to help one back, this is a character of tolerance of others.

 

GOODNESS

What is Goodness?

Goodness is holiness put into practice, and results from knowing God. Once you have this knowledge, goodness is supernaturally produced in you and bears fruits. Ephesians 5:9 says, “For the light within you produces only what is good, right and true”. To be filled with goodness is to live a life of doing good to others (Matthew 7:17-18; Luke 6:45). To do a good deed is to treat others justly. Proverbs 3:27 says, “Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it”. Luke 6:27 teaches that when wronged, we should still do good to those who wrong us, and that we should not seek revenge, or return the wrong in kind. A believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit will spill goodness when jostled. We cannot do good on our own; it is defined by God as Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone”. (Mark 10:8). Romans 12:21 tells us that goodness will overcome evil, and our expression of goodness can diminish the effects of evil in the world.  We become salt and light as the Holy Spirit produces the fruits of goodness in us (Matthew 5:13-14). God is good, and through the works of the Holy Spirit in us, he reproduces his goodness in our hearts, which shows in our lives. This goodness empowers us to live lives characterized by the desire to act righteously, and as others see the works of God in us, they will give glory to God who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Christians are called to live in a way that reflects the character of Christ.