He was "Goodness" by Amanda Elder Silvers

While researching the topic of "goodness" as one of the fruits of the Spirit I came across the following definition on www.discipleshiptools.org- "Goodness is the fruit that virtue and the rest of characters combine to produce endearment. It is the character that makes people liked and even lovable by others." The example of "goodness" that I'd like to give to you this morning weighs heavy on my heart.  I hope it will speak to you.

News has travelled quickly this week through the small town in which I live that a young man most all of us knew has passed away.  Jette was the very definition of "goodness".  He was a Christian and and active church goer.  Jette excelled in practically everything he attempted both in sports and academics.  He had movie star good looks and was that boy that all the young girls in town would swoon over (even if quietly so).  My own nieces- when they were about 4 and 6- told me that one day they'd marry Jette.  Jette was well mannered and well spoken.  He had a kind heart and often times would play his guitar at church during the service.  He was the type of boy that parents would dream of as a husband for their daughters and that every girl would dream of as a spouse.

Jette was in his twenties and had moved on from our small town to go to college and pursue a career in the medical field.  He was married to a lovely, young girl last December.  On Wednesday of this week whispers started filling the air through the town of Rogersville... "Have you heard about Jette?"  I accidentally walked into a conversation about this while standing in line to fill out paperwork at a local business.  It was spoken about just loudly enough for me to hear.  I immediately jumped in with complete shock, "WHAT?!  Jette?  I know him.  What happened?"  One of the greatest tragedies in life, I believe, is when a young person dies.  You immediately feel the void that their absence leaves and you can't help but wonder what mark they would have continued to make on this earth had they stayed.  All I have heard people discuss this week is what a "good kid" and a "good young man" he was.  Jette wasn't even aware, but he has left a legacy behind and been a role model for young men after him to live up to. 

"Goodness" in people seems to be a fading quality.  I just remember thinking how sweet it is that everyone remembers Jette in the same way I do.  That megawatt smile, his laugh, his kindness, his goodness.  The Love of his Lord simply radiated through him.  You couldn't help but be affected. 

Jette's absence has been felt by many and will continue to be felt.  It's troubling to lose someone who brought such goodness into this world.... a world which seems to be so empty, and selfish, and harsh.  Each of us should hope that when our time comes to leave from this earth that those who knew us will be able to say about us, "He was such a good man." or "She was such a good woman."  Jette was a perfect example of God's goodness.  He will be greatly missed.  

(Thank you to Ashley Goan for permission to use her prom pic with Jette from 2007)

 

How About a Heaping Dose of Kindness?

This week we are exploring the fruit of the Spirit called kindness.

At times, I have used a method to help me understand something.  I look at the opposite meaning of what I am trying to understand.

For instance, I see that the antonyms of kindness are cruelty, harshness and meanness.

I imagine that the Lord’s heart breaks, when the good news, of the Gospel of Love, is presented in a negative and skewed way. Scripture says that it is the kindness of God that brings a person to repentance. If the Lord’s heart is not breaking, He must be shaking His head, trying to figure out how people have misconstrued the truth of His message.

Perhaps, the following are some of the ways that you were presented as ways to understand God.  Even if that wasn’t the case for you, I am sure you can recognize ways in which Christianity is misrepresented.

1) Presenting God the Father as a vindictive and angry person
2) Saying that God’s main role is to catch you doing something wrong
3) Telling people that they have to reach unbelievable heights of perfection to deserve the Lord’s acceptance and love
4) Shaming people as a means for them to turn away from their sinful lifestyle
5) Publicly exposing sins, so that a person will feel naked and wrong in the sight of others
6) Expecting people to follow a long list of manmade rules and regulations
7) Telling people how to dress and wear their hair
8) Wrongly declaring that men are superior to women and are subject to men’s “made up” authority

I am sure that you could add your own to this list.

I don’t know about you, but scaring the bejeebes out of me would never be a method I would respond to.

Recently, I read about Josh Steven’s Foundation. It was started in memory of a young boy who died in a tragic accident. It seems that the quality that most people remembered about him was his kindness. So, as part of his legacy, his parents began this foundation/ministry. Through it, they offer a little card that reads “You’ve Been Caught Being Kind,” which includes a silicon bracelet wrapped around it that say’s “Be Kind…It’s the New Cool.”  The giver can present the card and bracelet to someone, especially a child, saying that they “caught” the child in the act of doing a kind thing”

His family thought up the idea, but doesn’t it sound so much like a “God idea”?

What if this was the way God worked? For every time we did a kind thing, He noticed and gave us a prize. I know it sounds simplistic and maybe even goofy, but I think the noticing and the award would go a long way. Try comparing that to what a shaming or an “I got ya’” attitude does.

Rather than make us feel…what the use is or believing that we will never measure up, we would feel good about taking the high road, when we showed kindness. Further, what if we showed kindness, to the people who deserve it the least? Perhaps we could get a double prize.

Is this an elementary way to think?  Perhaps it is, but God’s ways are sometimes so simple, yet very effective.

As a matter of fact, wasn’t it that realization of kindness that caused us to open the door of possibility to His invitation. Why? Because, it dawned on us, this Love was not anything like we expected.

I thank God, I had a group of ordinary women, who week after week, welcomed me into their midst with no “agenda” in mind, other than to show me love. Believe me; I was very aware that there were not the usual strings of expectations attached.

They provided the platform for the Holy Spirit to woo me into the Truth and subsequently into the Family of God.

Until that point, I avoided the God that I was scared of, by any means that I could. Sadly, He was presented to me as very angry and vindictive. And not only did I believe that He was that way, but other Christians seemed pretty judgmental too.

Why would anyone want a part of that?

But step by step…day by day…His kindness, through these women, broke through the dark clouds in my heart.

As Kindness sang a song of deliverance, I was able to fly out of the cage that held me prisoner for way too many years. Now, I too can sing a song declaring that the Lord is kind. It is a very sweet sounding tune indeed.

Linda Maynard
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Longsuffering? Can I Take a Pass on This Fruit of the Spirit?

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law
Galatians 5:22-23

If we read the Scripture text, the fruits of the Spirit are produced by the Spirit. Will it take effort from me? Yes…a yielding to the will of God. But, can I conjure up any of the fruits of the Spirit? No…no matter how much I push and try to control or produce anything myself, it ain’t gonna happen. Fruit happens by the Holy Spirit and is of the Holy Spirit.

I cringe when I hear people say, “Whatever you do, don’t pray for patience because the Lord is going to give you troubles” That makes God sound so vindictive. I don’t like that. Sounds like He is just waiting for that prayer, so He can “show us” a thing or two. Doesn’t sound like a Loving Father, does it?

Some versions of the Bible refer to the fruit that we are discussing this week, as longsuffering. In others, it is called patience and another says it is willingness to stick with a thing. And I might add, it is sticking with a person or sticking with circumstances beyond our control.

Longsuffering? I had to look deep within my soul and say “Lord, is that fruit in me?”

I didn’t get an immediate answer, but some people quickly came to mind.

I thought of Joni Eareckson Tada, as well as her husband Ken. She is a well known Christian author, speaker, artist and head of a Ministry called “Joni and Friends.”

Joni had a diving accident, as a teen, which left her paralyzed. She has experienced some deep valleys having to do with acceptance of her paralysis and all that it entails. To say the least, it can’t be easy to depend on others for your total personal care. She has weathered additional physical complications along the way as well.

Does she want to get out of her wheelchair? Of course she does. So far, that miracle hasn’t happened for her.

She has been judged as not having enough faith to be healed. How arrogant we can be. I just imagine the Lord’s heart breaks over that attitude towards her.

A while ago, she was going to enter a church service. She was “accosted” by an overly zealous young man, who felt it was his mission to challenge her. He was sure that she had to have some block to getting healed. He suspected that it was unforgiveness. She reports that she could not think of anyone she has not forgiven, at that point. She gladly accepted his prayer and said, she thought, when he left, that he was more disappointed than she was.

She believes in the possibility of healing and never refuses prayers in that vein.

When you read about her journey, you encounter a gut level honest woman. It never was easy for her to accept her fate and is not always easy even today. She is a woman of faith who asks honest questions of God and has learned to trust Him when easy answers don’t come.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer and gratefully responded to the treatments. As I read of this latest development, I was so struck by the love and devotion that her husband Ken has for her. He has been with her for years and I am sure that, as he holds such a strong place of support and comfort, he can become discouraged and exhausted too. He needs our prayers too.

I thought of another couple who is long suffering. It is a close relative of mine, along with his wife and their children.

For as long as I can remember, he has suffered from Schizophrenia. It is a cruel malady. There is such an evil and destructive component to it. It is tragic and tortorous.


He  has suffered tremendously, as has his family. I remember, one time, he told me that he put his ears under water, when he bathes, in an effort to still the “voices”. Recently, I received a call from him as he cried, because of a very tense situation in his life. He blurted out something that was hurtful to another person. He regretted it. My heart broke for him. His whole life, he has felt like a failure. It was almost as if he had no clue how to act.

 For his wife and their children, there has been a history of chaos and tragedy. Any hope that has come seems to be dashed again and again.

In sickness and in health” and “in good times and in bad” have been vows she has kept. Sometimes, I have wondered if I could do the same, with the circumstances she has lived under. I thank God that she has a strong faith in God. She expresses that she would never have survived without the Lord.

She prays for his deliverance. He prays as well, that he would become well.

I will not stop praying for Joni’s healing. I will not stop praying for my relative’s healing.

There are so many questions in my mind in both these circumstances. Sometimes, there is not an easy and pat answer. I don’t like that, not one bit. I want to know. I want to fix it. I want to take away pain.

These two families have shown me what it is to suffer… LONG.
They hang on to the Lord for dear life, knowing He is all that they have. He is their only Hope.

My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?

 Psalm 6:3

Linda Maynard