But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
- Galatians 5:22-23
If you are anything like me, Dear Reader, you most likely think of the list of the fruits of the Spirit as verbs. Love is a verb, and it requires action. If there is no action, it isn't love The rest of these also fit that, especially if mentally you read it or understand it as being. As in the fruit of the Spirit is being loving, being joyful, being peaceful, being longsuffering, being kind, being good, being faithful, being gentle, and being self controlling or self disciplined. But looking at them like this can mess us up.
Part of trying to manage and control our life is manipulating perception. We wear masks. We try to present ourselves as we wish we were or in such a way to make people think and feel about us the way we wish they would. It's the idea of if you want to b kind, act kind. If you want to be good, act good. Control the surface to change the core. Fake it till you make it. And it doesn't work. It's the exact mistake the Pharisees made, and Jesus called them on it.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
- Matthew 23:25-28
Faking it won't ever help us make it. Changing the surface will not touch the core. The problem is that we are as powerless to clean and change our heart as we are to set ourselves free and give ourselves life. The key to the passage we started with in Galatians is that it begins with the fruit of the Spirit is,.. It doesn't say the fruit or result of really desiring to walk with God is.... Nor that the result of trying with all your might and determination is.... It doesn't even say that the result of practice and continuing to try and never giving up on becoming who you want to be is.... It is the fruit or result of the Spirit of God being in control of our lives and not living for or in the power of our self is...
And that is why I think that it is better not to look at the list that follows the declaration that these are a result of submission to or being controlled and empowered by the Spirit of God as actions as much as attitudes. What? Jesus said that we have it backwards. Don't worry about cleaning up the outside, but rather clean the heart. Clean and change the core and the surface will be clean also. That's because we are not acting or being loving, joyful, etc. If we try to do and be these things we will fail because we can't make ourselves something that we are not. But when we are changed and empowered to walk differently by the Spirit, then the heart is changed. Our attitude, our nature, our new spirit's natural inclination is love, love toward God and others.
I know they have these manipulated, grafted trees that bear multiple kinds of fruit, but that will never happen naturally. A tree only bears one kind of fruit, and the fruit of the tree of life in the Spirit is love. That's why Paul says the fruit is rather than the fruits are. If we have, are and walk in that first fruit of love, then those other attitudes and fruits are there as well because they are attributes of a life defined by and ruled by love.
There is no joy without love, but, when we are in love, joy overcomes being broke, being sick and any other hardship. When we realize that God loves us and how much He really loves us and respond to that love by falling in love with Him, we have joy that the circumstances of life can't steal or kill. Because of love we can have an attitude of peace. We can be and know we are at peace with God and His will for us. We do not have to protect ourselves and our rights from the abuse of others but can be at peace with people because no matter what they do we have at our core the attitude of love toward them. That loves leads to laying down our life and pouring out for them instead of retaliation. Longsuffering is next, and I love this word much more than the word patience that is used in some translations. Longsuffering is having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people. It's not that it isn't patience or isn't being patient or isn't having patience, but it is patience beyond ease and comfort. When that person is giving you trouble, being annoying, making life difficult and miserable, we can still remain patient. That's only possible when we aren't acting patient but instead truly are patient with that person, and that is only possible when we are motivated and ruled by love rather than self. I'm not going to continue with the entire list, because I think you can see what I mean, but I do want to touch on the last one, self control, before I close.
When you see self control as an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, don't look at it as controlling self or self discipline. The reason the fruit is there is because we are not in control. We are surrendered to God and guided, controlled and empowered by the Spirit. It's not that we learn to control our self as much as our self is finally under God's control. By grace we are able to surrender our will, our self, to sacrifice self and lay self down in favor of God's nature, will, desire, etc. This is made clear in the verse after the list:
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we belong to God, if we are surrendered to Him, our flesh or self, our carnal nature, is not only controlled but executed. It is crucified. And this too is a natural characteristic of a life whose heart or core has been transformed by and made into and motivated by love. When our self nature is sacrificed and replaced by a heart of love for God and others then selfishness is naturally controlled.But we can't create love. We can't change ourselves from selfish jerks to people who love God and others. And acting like we love others when we don't won't help us love them. It's manipulation. But the love of God for us caused Him to do everything that was necessary to change our very nature and character, to give us an attitude of love that determines our actions and motivations no matter what may come, regardless of circumstances or what others do and how they treat us. So because of a true hear of love, the result of a life given to God in response to His love, we have a life characterized or described by love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And there is no law against any of that, because love is the law of Christ.
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