Become more like Jesus,
one day at a time.

Love comes first because it is at the heart of all the other fruit.

The New Testament often uses the Greek word agapē for this kind of love. It is a love that chooses to care for someone without first asking what we will receive in return. It goes beyond feelings, attraction, or family relationships. It is love freely given.

God himself is love, and Jesus is the greatest demonstration of that love. As Christ lives in us, we begin to understand and show that same love to others (Ephesians 3:17–18 ↗).

In many ways, all the other fruit grow out of love. Love is joyful and peaceful. Love is patient, kind, and good. Love is faithful and gentle. Love also exercises self-control.

As 1 Corinthians 13:4 ↗ reminds us, “Love is patient, love is kind.”

The Christian life is meant to be marked by joy.

Jesus’ birth was announced as “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10 ↗), and His resurrection brought His followers incredible joy (Luke 24:41 ↗).

Biblical joy is different from simply being happy when everything is going well. Happiness often depends on circumstances. The joy produced by the Holy Spirit can remain even when life is difficult.

On the night before His death, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” — John 15:11 ↗

Our joy is rooted in Jesus, not in everything going our way.

Biblical peace means much more than the absence of arguments or problems.

The Hebrew idea of shalom describes wholeness, well-being, and having what we truly need. When Joseph asked about his father’s well-being in Genesis 43:27 ↗, the idea was essentially, “Is everything well with him?”

Jesus gives us an even deeper peace—peace with God.

Romans 5:1 ↗ says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Because of Jesus, we do not have to live wondering whether we have done enough to earn God’s love. We can know the “God of peace” and experience the “peace of God” (Philippians 4:7, 9 ↗).

Patience literally carries the idea of being long-tempered instead of short-tempered.

It means having the ability to endure difficult situations—and difficult people—without quickly becoming angry.

This is part of God’s own character. Scripture repeatedly describes Him as slow to anger (Exodus 34:6 ↗; Psalm 103:8 ↗; Joel 2:13 ↗; Jonah 4:2 ↗; Nahum 1:3 ↗; Nehemiah 9:17 ↗).

2 Peter 3:9 ↗ also reminds us that the Lord is patient because He does not want anyone to perish.

Christian patience is not angrily gritting our teeth and putting up with someone. It is showing loving tolerance toward people even when they are weak, frustrating, or failing.

Love is patient (1 Corinthians 13:4 ↗), and followers of Jesus are called to be patient with one another (Ephesians 4:2 ↗).

Kindness is more than simply being nice.

The biblical word carries the idea of being useful, helpful, decent, reliable, and willing to serve.

God demonstrates this kind of kindness toward us. His kindness is seen through Jesus (Ephesians 2:7 ↗), and Romans 2:4 ↗ says that God’s kindness leads us toward repentance.

Titus 3:4 ↗ describes the kindness of God our Savior appearing to us.

When the Spirit produces kindness in us, we do more than feel compassion. We begin looking for practical ways to help, serve, encourage, and care for people.

Goodness is closely connected to kindness, but there is a difference.

Kindness is often gentle and compassionate. Goodness is deeply committed to doing what is right.

Jesus demonstrated both.

He showed kindness to the sinful woman who came to Him in Luke 7:37 ↗, but He also showed goodness when He confronted wrongdoing and drove those who were abusing the temple out.

Sometimes goodness means comforting someone. Other times goodness means speaking the truth or correcting something that is wrong.

We need both. Kindness without goodness might ignore wrongdoing, while goodness without kindness can become harsh.

Jesus perfectly demonstrated both grace and truth.

Faithfulness means being trustworthy, dependable, and loyal.

God is completely faithful (Romans 3:3 ↗), and He calls His people to become faithful as well.

1 Corinthians 4:2 ↗ says that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Faithfulness shows up in everyday life. It means keeping our promises, showing up when we say we will, being loyal to people, following through on responsibilities, and remaining committed to God.

Jesus praised the servant in Matthew 25:21 ↗ by saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

And Luke 16:10 ↗ reminds us that whoever is faithful with very little can also be trusted with much.

Gentleness does not mean weakness.

A better way to understand biblical gentleness is strength under control.

The Greek word was sometimes used to describe powerful animals that had been trained and brought under control. The strength was still there, but that strength was now directed properly.

Scripture describes both Moses (Numbers 12:3 ↗) and Jesus as gentle. Jesus described Himself this way in Matthew 11:29 ↗, and His gentleness is also seen in Matthew 21:5 ↗ and 2 Corinthians 10:1 ↗.

Gentleness is having enough strength that we do not need to intimidate, overpower, or hurt others.

It is strength surrendered to God.

Self-control means learning not to be controlled by every desire, emotion, impulse, or reaction we experience.

It is the ability to say, “I know what is right, and with God’s help, I am going to choose it.”

Paul spoke to Felix about “righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come” in Acts 24:25 ↗.

Self-control affects every part of life—our words, anger, appetites, spending, habits, relationships, thoughts, and reactions.

But Christian self-control is more than willpower. It is the Holy Spirit helping us bring our desires under God’s leadership.