The Fruit of the Spirit - Pt 2

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). Remember, all nine of these characteristics are to be seen as one single “fruit.” However, each expresses a different facet of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The first we will examine is love. The Greek word is "agape. This word is one of five used in the New Testament and translated “love” in our English Bibles. It refers to the sacrificial love associated with the work of God in making the atonement possible for us through Jesus. It is far different that what the devil has offered in the world. Satan's best attempt to reproduce this kind of love ends in mere lust. Man's best rendering is conditional affection. Agape is unconditional love. It is used to describe the Father's attitude towards the Son (cf. John 17:26) and to those who believe in the Son of God (cf. John 14:21). Vines defines “agape” as "a love that is not drawn out because of the excellence of its objects but because of the divine will in deliberate choice." This love does not love because it gets something in return or because those being loved are deserving; it loves because that is what it does! It expresses the essential nature of God. I like the illustration I read recently of a certain medieval monk as he announced he would be preaching the next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the wound from the spear. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say. Imagine being able to love like this! Because of the work of God's Spirit in your life you can! Let me make some simple suggestions: First, love without discrimination. It’s always easy to love folks like us; God’s love is without elimination because of differences. Second, love with a care that is tangible. Love has an actionable response attached. There is a “do” component to this kind of love. Third, this love makes time for people. It is often inconvenient and unrewarded; but, giving our time is the most sacrificial expression of our love. Fourth, love with real transparency. This is not the kind of transparency that we hear so often from politicians; this is letting people see the real us with our joys and sorrows, victories and defeats. How’s your fruit looking so far? The Holy Spirit wants it to be sweet. Let him do that.