The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (NIV 1984,
Galatians 5:22,23).
The fruit of the Spirit is God’s character revealed in the
believer’s life. God is love (1 John 4:16), meaning love is God’s essential
character – his DNA. If Horatio Caine of CSI: Miami fame (CBS, 2002 –
present) was investigating God, he would no doubt look for traces of God’s DNA.
Since we’re his children, we share his genetic markers. God
doesn’t want there to be any doubt we are his. Everyone will know that you
are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). And related to
this: Love . . . isn’t always “me first” (The Message, 1 Corinthians
13:5). The sinful nature puts me first.
The fruit of the Spirit helps us put others first.
Each of these spiritual fruits is a facet of God’s
character, in which we, as his children, are invited to walk. But how do we do
that? How does God grow his character in our lives? When we lack patience, God
will give us opportunities which demand patience. We’re given a choice: We can
either respond out of our default setting, exhibiting frustration, or we can
call on the Holy Spirit to help us, thereby growing in the spiritual fruit of
patience.
Difficult situations are evidence he loves us so much that
he’s inviting us to go deeper spiritually, that we might become more like him.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
God knows in which
spiritual fruit you especially need his help. How will you respond to his
opportunities for growth in your life?
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