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The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness
and self-control
(Galatians 5:22-23)

When you think of kindness, what comes to mind? An encouraging note sent by a friend? A caring shoulder to cry on? Or maybe your mom's chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven? Whatever you think about, it most likely includes a warm fuzzy feeling. Kindness just does that. No wonder it's a fruit of the Spirit. When we're kind, others get to experience that warmth, and whether they realize it or not they're experiencing some of God's character.

God's Kindness
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4-5)

How did the kindness of God appear? Through the life of Jesus Christ. That's the greatest, most complete picture of kindness we'll ever know. God saw a whole lot of hurt, brokenness and despair. He saw people with no hope of breaking free from pain and suffering. And so he sent his Son to the rescue. There wasn't any logical reason for him to do that. No one deserved his kindness—we really brought the suffering on ourselves (see Romans 3:23). But thankfully, God didn't treat us like we deserved.

Do you understand why we didn't deserve God's kindness? Titus 3:3 offers an explanation: "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures … " The word that really sticks out to me here is "enslaved." That's what sin does to us. Like a prisoner shackled and chained in the deepest, darkest dungeon, our disobedience—our desire to do things our own way rather than God's—stood between us and freedom. We were deceived by the things the world said would make us happy—clothes, cars, popularity. And we were captives to the lusts of our flesh. But when we accepted the truth—that true life comes only through Christ—the chains were broken and we were set free.

God knew what we needed before we even asked for it. That's kindness—the ability to recognize the needs of others and take steps to meet those needs. Kindness is understanding. It's compassion.

What About You?

1. Besides giving you salvation, what are some other ways God has shown you kindness? Make a list of them.
2. Read the list over, then write a letter to God thanking him for all the different ways he's been kind to you.
3. Ask God to help you recognize his incredible kindness more and more.

Kindness to Others
"You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls." (Ruth 2:13)

Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, were experiencing some really rough times. Both of their husbands were dead, which spelled struggle since there were few work options for women in their day. On top of that, they'd just moved back to Naomi's hometown. While that might not sound so bad, it had been more than a decade since Naomi had lived there, and people were probably still wondering why she'd left in the first place. She and her husband had moved away from family and friends to live in Moab—an enemy nation. Their sons had ended up marrying Moabite women. Now Naomi had brought one of them back with her—not exactly something the neighbors would celebrate.

Things must have seemed pretty desperate for these women. But thankfully, they'd arrived during the harvest. Hebrew law gave instructions for providing for the poor during this time. Knowing this, Naomi told her daughter-in-law she'd be able to gather grain in someone's field. That was the law—to leave extra for the less fortunate. So Ruth went and found a field and began to work hard. When Boaz, the owner of the field arrived on the scene, he asked who she was. He'd actually already heard about Ruth, about how she'd moved with her mother-in-law and was taking care of her. So when his workers told him who the woman was, he was moved to help her. He told them to make sure she was protected from harm and that she was given extra grain. Then he invited her to eat with the rest of his workers. Ruth was overwhelmed by the kindness of Boaz. She wasn't expecting help from anyone, yet for some reason this man showered her with blessings.

Overseeing his workers kept Boaz busy, yet he wasn't too busy to recognize Ruth's needs. How often do we fail to show others kindness simply because we're too busy to notice them?

What About You?

1. Ruth's and Naomi's needs were mainly physical—they needed food. What are some other needs people have?
2. This week keep your eyes and ears open at school. Do you have friends who are struggling? Think of some ways you can show them kindness.
3. Ask God to make you more sensitive to the needs of others.

Be Kind to Our Enemies?
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:35-36)

I always hated letting my brother borrow stuff. I just never knew what sort of condition it would be in when he returned it. And that wasn't the only reason I hesitated. Even though he was my brother, I had a tendency to view him as an enemy—pretty typical for siblings, I guess. Of course, I didn't have this problem when it came to my friends. I was quick to let them use my things. I also liked to do nice things for them, something that rarely crossed my mind when it came to my brother.

It's fairly painless to do nice things for people we get along with. But when it comes to those who get on our nerves or those who are downright mean, showing kindness typically isn't our first response. Yet that's the type of kindness Jesus was talking about in these verses. It must have seemed pretty illogical to those he was teaching. And it was. Loving an enemy just doesn't make any sense. Then again, neither does God's kindness, which was the point Jesus was trying to make.

Through this teaching Jesus was also pointing out that true kindness is impossible unless God does some work in our hearts. Remember that the next time you have to deal with someone you don't like. Showing them kindness may seem completely unrealistic, but with God all things are possible. And he will never expect you to do it alone.

What About You?

1. Think of people in your life who you don't like or have trouble getting along with. Why should you show them kindness? How can you show them kindness?
2. The next time an "enemy" does something that annoys you, try to understand why they might be acting that way. Maybe they're hurting. Maybe they need you to look past their frustrating behavior and show them love.
3. Ask God to help you find practical ways to show grace to your enemies

Read more from 'Devotionals'

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