“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other.” — Galatians 5:14-15
The Fruit of the Spirit is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Paul explains the fruits to the Galatians right after these verses. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These virtues are interconnected and essential for our spiritual growth.
However, we can easily cultivate the opposite virtues. They entirely oppose the working of the Holy Spirit. Responding in our flesh leads to negative consequences, such as hate, despair, anxiety, impatience, cruelty, wickedness, unfaithfulness, harshness, and impulsiveness.
In every day, hour, and interaction, we have opportunities to work on this in our lives. The outcome directly correlates to leading with the Spirit or with our flesh. Not only that, but we also can build or destroy each other.
Ask Yourself
Over the last few months, this has been at the forefront of my mind as I interact with my family, people at work, friends, and strangers. I pray and ask the Holy Spirit for help when a conflict or a hard conversation develops. Along with that, I ask myself, “What is the desired fruit from this situation, and how can my flesh get in the way?”
This has undoubtedly been good for me to think about. Recently, I had an issue booking a room for a vacation and had to call to take care of it. I started the conversation in my flesh. As a result, my wife had to remind me to change my tone and lead with peace. If I hadn’t, I would definitely have made the situation worse. It’s easy to respond in our flesh. However, those outcomes are always temporary and destructive. They don’t give the Gospel an opportunity.
As believers, we must strive to produce the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives (through the power of the Holy Spirit). Additionally, we must always be aware of the negative consequences of failing to do so. When we let the Holy Spirit lead, we always build each other up; when we let our flesh lead, we tear each other down. In other words, let’s choose to produce the Fruits of the Spirit in our lives and let the Holy Spirit guide us in all things.
Learning to live with the Fruits of the Spirit,
Posted in A Word from the Pastor