Fruit of the Spirit

 

The fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22

Fruit is the final outcome of a seed, a shoot, a stem, a branch, a leaf and finally fruit.

Peter understood the concept of growth – 2 Peter 1. He encouraged adding e.g. 'add to your faith virtue'..... and finally 'add to brotherly kindness love'. Maturity is seen in the display of God's kind of love.

Returning to Galatians 5:22, the list begins with the priority of love. The reaction of many people is – 'I must be more loving' or others 'love makes me feel good.' Both expressions are the result of a misunderstanding.

LOVE is rather a motive, than a feeling. John 3:16 puts it clearly "God so loved the world that He gave......". It was not the worth of the objects, nor a warm fuzzy feeling that moved God to send His Son. He was  motivated by His intrinsic purpose of good, yes eternal  good for those He chose to love. Love is relational, seen best within the person of the Trinity. (John 5). God's kind of love is not blind, but overcomes the obstacles to effect the good intended.

So then, how can I who am by nature prejudiced, biased, revengeful, selfish and ignorant, where can I get God's kind of love? Certainly not from within, not from the world, but rather God by His Spirit to my spirit. Ponder for a moment the message to the Galatians and catch the fires of Divine love kindling in your soul:

In review:

1       We have received good news, that inspite of our unworthiness,(fit only to be crucified), the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

2      The blessing of the Spirit has not come to us by lawkeeping, but rather through God's grace, God's promise, through Christ suffering the curse for us. Faith says 'yes Lord" 3:26

3      Our very special relationship with God as 'Father' and our place as heirs (4:7) has been secured for us by God sending His Son into the world, born of a woman, born under the law.....4:4

4      The freedom (5:1) in Christ is priceless, but purposeful – "through love serve one another" (5;13).

 These blessings result from God's love. And this is the love being produced in us by His Holy Spirit.

So love is a very warm, undefinable reality. That which the Holy Spirit produces slowly  in our lives ( from self love to God's love to sacrificial love for others.) Some people feel cosy when they remember that God loves them. Maturity is when God's love controls us to selfless activity – "we love, because He first loved" 1 John 4.

JOY, is the second outcome of a Holy Spirit filled life. I watch people who are constantly stressed, fretting over the past or the uncertainty of the future. If the Holy Spirit has His way, we have a deep down contentment with God and His gracious mercies which are new every morning. This is more than happiness that happens sometimes. Rather joy is the heart  rejoicing that God is good and I am in His hands.

PEACE  is akin to joy, but rather relates is a response to distress and difficult circumstances. How can one have peace in war, in domestic violence, in social disorder, in family dysfunction, in sickness etc.  Only by trusting someone greater than ourselves. How can we know Him? - By the leading and instruction of the Holy Spirit.

PATIENCE – seldom in a woman, never in a man – but possible by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Our perception of others needs to be modified by the instruction of the Spirit. Our personal impetuousness needs to be condemned for what it is and replaced with Spirit begotten patience.

KINDNESS......GOODNESS......FAITHFULNESS........GENTLENESS..........SELF-CONTROL.   These are the outcomes of the Holy Spirit instructing the spirit of the believer. God's good fruit in our lives!

I conclude with two quotes from Galatians:

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" 5:26

"Those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life" 6:8

There is so much more , but enough for now, enough to cause our hearts to rejoice

johnmckee@internode.on.net