Inspired by the LGG Study, The Fruit of the Spirit/w4d1
Read 1:8-18; SOAP: Ruth 1:16
Rulth 1:16/NLT
But Ruth replied, “Stop urging me to abandon you! For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God.
Goodness is virtue and holiness in action. It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It’s a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person. The Greek word translated “goodness,” agathosune, is defined as “uprightness of heart and life.” Agathosune is goodness for the benefit of others, not goodness simply for the sake of being virtuous.
Someone with agathosune will selflessly act on behalf of others. Confronting someone about a sin demonstrates goodness. So do giving to the poor, providing for one’s children, visiting the sick, volunteering to clean up after a storm, and praying for an enemy. Expressions of goodness are as varied as the Spirit is creative.
Gotquestions.org/The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is goodness?
“In a world where walking away has never been easier, there is something beautiful and rare about a person who chooses to stay. Someone who shows up when things get hard. Someone who loves without conditions and gives without keeping score. Ruth is one of the best examples of it in Scripture.”
Ruth had nothing to gain and everything to lose. She was choosing poverty, uncertainty, and a foreign land. She stayed anyway because her love for Naomi was not conditional, and her commitment was not based on convenience. Their relationship is goodness put on display. Real, costly, Spirit-produced goodness that shows up not only when it is easy but especially when it is hard.
LGG Journal / The Fruit of the Spirit, p112
Although the dialogue between Ruth and Naomi doesn’t mention goodness, according to gotquestions.org’s definition, I believe it was on full display in both women. Both women beautifully expressed goodness in action by yielding to what would benefit the other. Naomi understood that Ruth, a Moabite widow in a foreign land, had no certainty of provision, so she set her free to stay with her Moabite family. At the same time, Ruth understood that Naomi was returning to her people as a widow with no immediate family and no certainty for the future, so she insisted on going with Naomi.
Whether Ruth stayed out of loyalty to or love for Naomi, her words declared devotion to both Naomi and her God (the God of Israel). This was not simply an act of kindness or an attempt to do ‘the right thing’; I believe it was an outward act of selfless love and goodness to her mother-in-law, who, as a widow herself, had no independent income or legal standing, even when she returned to her people.1
Ruth had nothing to gain and everything to lose. She was choosing poverty, uncertainty, and a foreign land. She stayed anyway because her love for Naomi was not conditional, and her commitment was not based on convenience. Their relationship is goodness put on display. Real, costly, Spirit-produced goodness that shows up not only when it is easy but especially when it is hard. LGG Journal / The Fruit of the Spirit, p112
gotquestions.org, explains that “Goodness is not a quality we can manufacture on our own. James 1:17 says, ‘Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.’ This certainly includes a life characterized by goodness. In letting the Holy Spirit control us, we are blessed with the fruit of goodness. As others see our good works, they will praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).” Friends, may this be our desire and goal.
Reflection and Application
Is there a relationship or situation in your life right now where God is calling you to show up with Ruth-like goodness to stay when leaving would be easier?
Response of Prayer
Father, I confess it isn’t always easy to be selfless, to be other focused – forgive me when I fall short of living out or showing ‘goodness’. Thank You for Your Spirit in me who is able to make goodness abound in me. May goodness be a virtue that others see displayed in my life and may they give You the glory that You deserve. ~Amen
The More We Know
- If a widow was a foreigner who had married into an Israelite family, her situation was doubly perilous. She lacked the local kinship network that might otherwise step in out of charity. Additionally, certain groups (like the Moabites) faced strict religious and social integration prohibitions. [1, 2, 3]
For a foreign widow to survive, she either had to return to her biological family in her pagan homeland (as Naomi urged Ruth and Orpah to do) or rely completely on the community’s adherence to God’s commands regarding the compassionate treatment of the ger (stranger/foreigner). [1, 2] ↩︎
