Fruit of the Spirit – Goodness!
What good things might fill your mind this week? While contemplating that question, I add another – Why?
1 Peter calls us to be obedient (1:14, 22) and holy (1:15, 16) which is another way of saying ‘be good’ in the sight of God. Importantly, we also hear why – it is because of the grace given to us (1:13) by the precious blood of the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ (1:19) who rose so that we could have a very real and sure hope in God (1:3, 21).
This is tremendous news especially for anyone who is aware that they have failed to ‘do good’ (even when earnestly trying). This free gospel, frees those enslaved by sin and so frees the Christian to do good. That is why Peter can call Christians to purify themselves by obeying the truth (1:22) and seeking to rid themselves of things which are not good – malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander (2:1), and presumably other evils as this is clearly not a comprehensive list of bad things. Praise God.
Be a Christian who intentional aims to fill your mind with good things (not evil things) and intentionally do that which God would see to be ‘good’ – but do it because of the greatest act and demonstration of ‘goodness’ which has first been given to us in Jesus.
