#13.

True Fellowship will be Characterized by Acts of Kindness

Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; If love is patient, it is also kind (1 Corinthians 13:4), so the fruit of kindness will appear in the children of God alongside the primary fruit of love. To put it another way, Jesus is the premier example of kindness, so if we are made like Jesus, we must be like Him in His kindness, at least to some degree. As with all these fruits we are examining, though, there cannot be a full expression and outworking of them unless they have an object. What does kindness look like unless it is directed at another person? Kindness is something that is seen in action - it actually means to do good to someone, to actively benefit them or act so as to seek their benefit. Clearly, it doesn't include those ostentatious charitable deeds for which Christ criticized the Pharisees. They were less concerned about the good of the ones they gave to than they were about the good opinion of those who witnessed their giving! Once again, then, this fruit of kindness is not given for us to keep to ourselves, but rather to use for the good of Christ's body. So we should expect to see true fellowship characterized by acts of kindness among the brothers and sisters in any genuine church. By now, hopefully, something of what we said earlier in this series is becoming clear. True fellowship is a sublime expression of the love of Christ among those for whom He died, springing from their union with Him and empowered by His Spirit, Who lives in them. In this fellowship, Christian love, joy, peace, patience, kindness (and other fruits we will go on to consider) are evident and are growing. Something to meditate on as we continue to explore this subject: if you are a believer in Christ, you will instinctively recognize real fellowship, and you will also feel the relative emptiness and hollowness of much that is branded as "fellowship" in the church today.

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