Sowing Seeds of Goodness
Growing Your Spiritual Garden
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22
When I study the passage on the Fruits of the Spirit, "goodness" always causes me to pause and contemplate the word's true meaning. To say something is "good" covers such a plethora of meaning. What does it mean to bear fruit of "goodness."
In order to understand "goodness" it is important to go to the very beginning when God first created the earth. In Genesis 1:3-4, we read, "Then God said, 'Let there be light, and there was light'. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness."
This verse states that God saw light and pronounced it good. When I think about light, I think about positive things. I think about the sun's warmth and the brightness of the day. I think about the highlights produced by the light when it touches God's creation. Light is beautiful and light is good.
However, God's light is more than just sunshine during the day. God's light is also the light that we know as Jesus Christ. In John 1:3-5, we read "All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
In many respects, the first chapter of John's gospel is another version of the story of creation, for in it we learn that Christ has been present since the beginning. He is the one true light and it is his light that shines through us. When we bear fruit, we are bearing the light of Christ. God sees this light in us and pronounces it good.
This is an important concept to keep in mind because we do not deserve God's favor. We actually deserve condemnation as a result of our sinful nature. Yet, God does not see our sin. He sees a child that has been redeemed and purchased from the bondage of sin by His only son, Jesus Christ. When God looks at us, He sees nothing but goodness. Therefore, when we begin to bear the fruit of goodness, we are (in essence) bearing the fruit of light. Christ's love and light radiates from us like a beacon. When other people look at us, they should see this light and be drawn to it.
Wherever there is light, darkness simply can not exist. When God sent the ninth plague of darkness upon Egypt, the book of Exodus tells us that was "a darkness that could be felt." (Exodus 10:21). People were afraid to move; they could not see one another, yet we are told that the people of Israel had light where they lived. God did not extinguish the light of His people.
Like the light that burned for the people of Israel while they were in Egypt, the light of Christ burns for us today. It is a light that can never be extinguished. It is always present within us. Let people see your light today and may they know that it is good. After all, a garden can not grow without light.
