"And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another."

                            -Romans 15:14 

This fruit of the Spirit is much more difficult to expound on, due to the fact that it encompasses such a vast subject, so I suppose it would be helpful to us if we first looked at the very root of the word goodness. Goodness, of course, simply means the state of being good. While I'm sure that most of you reading this would profess to be a  good person, we must remember what the Word of God says in Romans 3:10:  

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." 

The reason I bring this passage of Scripture up is to point out that it is impossible for us to be good through our own efforts. Like all of the other fruits of the Spirit, we must first have the Holy Ghost in our lives in order to develop it. Remember, they are called "The Fruit of the Spirit", not "The Fruit of Our Own Efforts."

When I was young, I was taught to begin my mealtime prayers with the words, "God is good..." Despite the fact that it was only a children's prayer, those words couldn't be more true. We serve a good God. And because we serve a good God, His dwelling in us ought to result in us being good children of God. (If you haven't noticed by now, every one of the fruits of the Spirit can be gained by simply becoming like Christ.)

When I look back over the past 24 hours of my life, I must say that there have been instances in which I have been lacking somewhat greatly in the area of goodness. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"  over our areas of weakness and insufficiency (I Corinthians 15:57)!