The fruit of the Spirit is not a fruit that we eat, it's a fruit that grows inside of us! When we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us to make us more like him. This means that we start growing the fruit of the Spirit - fruit like faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is the good fruit that God wants us to have in our lives. This fruit shows that we love God, and it helps us to show his love to others. Let's check out one of the fruits of the Spirit now!
GENTLENESS
When the Bible talks about gentleness it doesn't just mean not being rough. It means not thinking that we are better than other people. God doesn't want us to look down on others. He wants us to treat everyone kindly and gently, no matter who they are or what they have done. Let's check out a Bible story to help us understand more about the fruit of gentleness:
In this Bible story Jesus gives us a great example of the fruit of gentleness. The Pharisees didn't like the woman who came to see Jesus. They knew she had done wrong things and they thought they were too good to be around her. They didn't care about her and they thought God didn't care about her either. But they were wrong. Jesus cared about the woman very much. He could see how sad she was, and he knew how sorry she was for the things she had done wrong. Jesus was God but he didn't think he was too good to be friends with the woman. He treated her kindly and gently and this is how God wants us to treat others no matter who they are.
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How do you think the woman felt when she heard the Pharisees saying unkind things about her?
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How do you feel when people talk unkindly to you?
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How do you think the woman felt after talking to Jesus?
When you care about someone who no-one else likes, then the fruit of the Spirit of gentleness is in you! When you don't think you are better than other people but choose to be friends with everyone, then you have the Spirit of gentleness! When you treat others kindly and gently no matter who they are, then the Spirit of gentleness is in you! This is the kind of fruit that shows God's love to others. It also shows God that we love him.
Dear Lord, Thank you that when I follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit works in me to grow lots of good fruit. Thank you that Jesus shows the fruit of gentleness because he loves everyone no matter what they have done. Please help me to be like Jesus and to show your love to others by the way I treat them. Amen.
