Fruit of the Spirit/Love

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

     Love encompasses all of the other fruit. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit within us, will continue to teach us how to love. Each one of us is made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) Jesus sees through to each heart. Let’s follow the story of Joyful Jenny and Crabby Cathy this week and use them as one illustration for growing in the fruit of the Spirit.

     Joyful Jenny and her young family recently moved into a new home. JJ had given her heart to Jesus a few years earlier and was in the midst of a Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit. It turns out she would be put to the test on growing in the Spirit with her next-door neighbor, Crabby Cathy.  JJ had recently read this Scripture:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.” Luke 6:32

     JJ had made a conscious decision to love the difficult people placed in her life. She began to pray for Cathy and for her words to be spoken in love. She took a deep breath as she walked outside one summer morning, seeing CC out in the backyard.

     “You really need to get to work on these weeds back here. They are starting to move into my yard and I have more than enough to do, thank you,” were the first words out of CC’s mouth.

     “Good morning. You are so right. But isn’t it a beautiful morning? It’s a morning to play don’t you think? But I will get on those weeds soon. Your yard looks beautiful by the way. I might need help on deciding which one of these are weeds. Aren’t some of them pretty?”

      With a “hmmph,” CC walked away. Jen sighed, recognizing how difficult it was to love some people. “How do you do it, Lord?” she whispered before heading to the swing set with her kids.

     Think about those difficult people in your life. Maybe the Holy Spirit can give you some help in loving them, as impossible as that sounds. It is easier to love the people that are like us, that love us back, that understand us. The Holy Spirit will allow us to see a little deeper into the hurt, the defensive walls, the grief and hopelessness. Is He asking you to love?

     First of all, make sure you fill up with the love of Christ, until it overflows. His love is unconditional, filled with mercy and new beginnings. His love changes us first. Only then can He work within us and through us to share it with the CC’s in our lives.

Dear Lord,

Fill us to the brim until it overflows with Your love. Teach us to love the difficult people in our lives and the people who need it the most. Take away our doubt and fear as we move out into the world today.

In Jesus we pray,

Amen