The sixth characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit is Goodness. When I was little, I learned this was a characteristic of God through the memorization of a simple grace taught me by my Grandmother I think: "God is Great, God is Good. Let us thank Him for this food. AMEN" I was so proud when asked to say "the Grace" and the last word always came out loud and clear as I eagerly opened my eyes to start eating. There are many, many verses in the Bible that talk about God's goodness, many of them in Psalms. And when you think about it, Goodness is a very important part of God's character.
In the first chapter in the Bible, Genesis 1, God uses the word Himself when He looks at His creation: "And God saw that it was Good"... And as His culminating creation, through the actions of Adam and Eve, we all recognize what Good is: "And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.'" (Genesis 2:22 NIV). So we are able to recognize God's Goodness. Think about our situation if God was not Good. Consider an all powerful being that had dominion over us who was not Good but Evil. Think of the world such a creator would have brought into existence and what our lives would have been like in such a world. We would know fear and terror every day of our lives and though we may respect the power of this type of cruel and vicious lord, there would never be love, only hatred in our hearts towards him.
When you contrast such a scenario with our much kinder reality, it is easier to see the Goodness of God. Just look around at what He created. It has beauty, harmony and thoughtful consideration woven in the very fabric of even it's smallest particles. The earth is truly "full of the goodness of the Lord" as the verse says in the lovely picture above. We live in a beautiful, harmonious world created by a thoughtful, considerate God who loves us and went to great lengths to show us that. "For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:5 NIV)
As we place a greater emphasis on our Spiritual nature, we see this overall picture of the Goodness of God. When we focus on our physical self and desires, all we see in this world is what we desire to have. If we have our desires fulfilled, then we are already greedily looking for something more. If we don't receive what we desire, then we feel deprived and fretful. Taking the emphasis off of ourselves lets us see what wonderful gifts our Good and Loving Father has already provided for us. Then we can begin to see the Goodness of God showing through our lives to others around us, helping them to see past all the selfishness we live with every day to the goodness in store for each of us from our wonderful Creator. What a beautiful characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit!
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17 NIV)