In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance....” The NIV translates gentleness as kindness.

Kindness can be a shocking thing when you are expecting the opposite. Before I was a pastor I was a parole officer. My job was to supervise people who had been convicted of a crime, and I used different approaches with different people. Sometimes I was forced to be stern and tough. Other times it would be obvious that I was supervising someone who was broken and defeated. I’ve enjoyed seeing the broken and defeated come back to life as they have encountered gentleness, kindness, and goodness.

Our Heavenly Father enjoys touching lives with goodness as well (Romans 2:4). It could be that you may encounter some broken and defeated lives today. Why not follow the Father’s example, and shock someone back to life today with kindness, gentleness, and goodness?