Photo: Scripture Printable Fruit of the Spirit by Finleyjaesdesigns.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22–26
We’ve made it! After a few weeks in the series, we’re here at the nine-fold list that you may have thought I would only focus on (if so, sorry to disappoint). Last week we saw the list of vices that result from living by the flesh; this week we learn of the fruit that grows when we live by the Spirit.
Commentators have tried to group the fruit various ways, but probably the best way is to put them all underneath the first fruit that appears – love. Love is the fruit by which the rest flow. When we love, we invite the other fruit to blossom in our minds and hearts.
As you think about the fruit of the Spirit, remember that fruit is something that grows at the command of another – the gardener or God. We may plant the seed, but for fruit to result, we need good soil, rain, sunshine, and protection against birds, disease, and high winds. We may not realize the fruit that God births in our lives, but those around us may spot it. They may see how we clean up after the coffee time at church, week after week, without complaint or thanks. How we reach out to the older gentleman who has trouble walking unaided. How we don’t blow up when yet again our lovely children delay their bedtime.
When I shared the stage with Jennifer Rees Larcombe at a BRF/Woman Alive women’s event a couple of years ago, what struck me was the love she emanated, not only when she was speaking to the many women gathered, but especially when she prayed throughout the day for individuals. She may have been mending from a broken pelvis, but she wasn’t going to be sidelined in the work of God. She was in step with the Spirit.
May you bear fruit for God – fruit that lasts.
Prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love… where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy. Amen. (After St Francis)
Color makes for intrigue – just look at the splashes of vibrancy my dad uses in this painting. Why not turn his artwork into a writing prompt? Who is this woman? Who or what is she waiting for, and why? What happens next, and what went on before?
Holy Spirit stained glass window, All Saints Catholic Church, St. Peters, MO, USA
…Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. Galatians 5:15–21
Paul, true to the tradition of his times, lists a catalog of vices and virtues as he argues for the Galatians to live fueled by the Spirit, not ruled by the flesh. The acts of the flesh that he lists in this week’s reading, and the fruit of the Spirit we read next week, would vary according to the group of Christians he’s addressing. The Galatians were split by infighting as they tried to determine who to follow – Paul or the so-called Judaizers, who wanted to impose their under-the-law practices, such as circumcision. Realizing this context helps us from making these lists an exhaustive catalog.
But the Bible speaks today, and with the context in mind, we can ask the Lord to show us where we are living by the flesh instead of the Spirit. Churches and households at odds with each other don’t bear the fruit of love.
The angry words that flew in a church I heard about left many hurt, outraged, and in pain. Those in lay leadership opposed the minister, and didn’t hold back in their public criticism, calling him deluded and other names. New to church leadership, he admitted that he could have approached the conflict differently. But yet the vicious words and attacks on his character left him reeling.
How can you support your church leaders? You might not agree with all of their decisions, but they need your love and encouragement. Perhaps you could write a note thanking them for something specific you’ve gained from their ministry. You could drop off a bag of food or goodies. If they have young children, you could offer to babysit so they can have a night off.
How will you be led by the Spirit today?
Prayer: Triune God, help me to put to death the acts of the flesh, that I might live led by your Spirit. Glorify your name through me I pray. Amen.
In the past couple of months, when people would ask me how I am, I’d often reply, “Tired.”
I have been weary to the bone; tired in body and spirit. Writing two books in quick succession, powering through my MA in Christian spirituality all in a too-compressed time period, and some personal issues have left me spent. Mind you, most of this is of my own doing. I could have spaced things out a bit more.
So lately I’ve been trying to recover, resting with a purpose, as I’ve seen my friends with chronic illnesses practice. I’m not so sure I’m very successful at that type of resting, however, for once I slowed down, I seemed to collapse into a state of acedia – that malaise and lack of interest in much of life that the church fathers named as a deadly sin (often called sloth). Binge-watching medical dramas seemed about the level of what I was capable of, and my to-read pile of books started to pile up even higher. I neglected my weekly blog posts and have a long list of people to whom I owe an email.
But this week, after the #BeastfromtheEast had thawed, part of my soul started to wake up too from its winter hibernation. I attended a seminar by one of my favorite lecturers at Heythrop College, Eddie Howells, on St John of the Cross on human and divine desire. The experience of thinking deeply again about things of the spirit and soul, along with spending time in the college library doing some research, felt like the start of a gentle awakening.
May it continue.
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here. Did you join the linkup? Please share your blog in the comments, and tell me if you feel tired.
I’ve been remiss in sharing my dad’s paintings! Sorry if you’ve missed the way he expresses what he sees through his art. I’m back, and promise to be more consistent.
I love this sailboat painting of his – it’s a biggish work that we have hanging in our hallway. I see motion and freedom and the power of the wind harnessed.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:7–14)
In the text we’re reading this week, Paul doesn’t shy away from strong language. If it doesn’t put you off your cereal or sandwich, think through exactly what he’s saying in verse 12. Yes, this is no dry treatise, but rather a passionate missive to win the hearts and minds of a community of believers being led astray. Their fruit would wither on the vine as they embraced, step by step, a false gospel.
Paul yearns that the Galatians would live in the freedom that Christ earned for them. They are free from, and free to. Free from the law (but as we said last week, when living by the Spirit, we’ll yet live according to the law); free to love and serve.
Living in step with the Spirit means following the nudges we might sense from God throughout the day. Instead of walking past the acquaintance on the street, pretending we don’t glimpse them, we stop and chat. And hear of their tooth pain and family brokenness, and we pray for them, there and then at the street corner. That’s following the greatest commandment – loving our neighbor as ourselves – out of a loving obedience to God’s whispers. All the while being grateful that we can hear God and share his neverending love.
Other times it’s harder to love our neighbors as ourselves. Perhaps that neighbor is actually our husband, with whom we are annoyed for some earthy and mundane reason. When we put aside our frustration and repent of our harsh words, loudly spoken, we show love and humility. (And how did you guess, I’m writing about myself and my own struggles!)
How might loving your neighbor take shape for you today? Anticipate how God will work through you.
Prayer: Lord God, we confess that we often fail to love as you love. Help us overcome our selfishness as we reflect your attractive love. Amen.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1–6
When we think of the fruit of the Spirit, often we will think of this list as found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Many a sermon has been preached outlining the fruit, and no doubt, fruit has been borne from those sermons. But we benefit from reading the text within its context. That is, from seeing Paul’s letters for what they are – other people’s mail. What can we learn about the group of Christians he’s addressing? Why is Paul so passionate?
This idea isn’t original to me; it’s been a theme of biblical commentators throughout the centuries. But one modern author has opened my eyes to reading Paul’s letters especially with the recipient in mind: Conrad Gempf in his How to Like Paul Again (Authentic, 2013). I may have edited the book, but when I picked it back up recently I was struck again by how much we gain by gathering knowledge about the Galatians (and Corinthians, Philemon and so on). Knowing the biblical context – learning about the people receiving Paul’s mail – can save us from making poor applications to our lives.
The Galatians had fallen prey to some false teachers who came after Paul. They were trying to convince the new church that Paul wasn’t authoritative, and that to be true worshippers – bearers of fruit – men should undergo circumcision. No, says Paul. You’ve been set free from the law; what matters now is “faith expressing itself through love.”
As New Testament Christians, do we put ourselves under the law? We need to train ourselves in righteousness – through the practice of spiritual disciplines, for example – but we should also experience the freedom and joy that Christ brings. When we live by the Spirit, I’m guessing we’ll abide by the law anyway – but with a different motivator. What do you think?
Prayer: Father God, you loved us so much that you gave your only Son to die for us. Help us to live in your freedom and joy this day. Amen.
I’ve had a bit of a break from posting devotional thoughts, but am delighted to share this one on the fruits of the Spirit. As it’s Lent, the season of preparing for Easter (why should you observe Lent?), it seems appropriate to focus on how God can bring forth fruit in our lives. Thank you for joining me!
When I lived in Virginia, the church I attended held their yearly retreat in the Shenandoah mountains each September. The weekend was always a special time of fun and growth in the Lord – we’d have a speaker who would teach and stretch us, but we’d also enjoy long walks, side-splitting entertainment, and deep conversations. But an abiding memory from those weekends was seeing and enjoying fruit of various kinds. As it was apple season, we’d feast on crunchy Virginia apples and enjoy apple cider. The spiritual fruits we’d glimpse would also enrich us – the love between friends and family, the serving of others, the joy and goodness in evidence.
During this several-month series, we’ll be looking at the fruit of the Spirit according to the letters of the apostle Paul. I hope as you read Paul’s letters, you’ll sense his love and concern for each of the churches he’s addressing. Try to imagine those to whom he’s writing, each facing different situations and challenges. I’ve roughly ordered the readings according to when he wrote the letters (though probably we should have started with Galatians, but 1 Corinthians 13, the ‘love’ chapter, is a wonderful place to start).
The fruit of the Spirit as appearing in Galatians 5 is what we usually think of when we hear the term. But Paul wasn’t making it an authoritative list of what is birthed in and through us as we live as the new creations in Christ. The naming of vices and virtues, as we will see, was then a common practice. So we should bear that in mind, not making the Galatians passage the cast-iron nine-fold list of the fruit of the Spirit.
Anyway, it’s clear from Paul’s writing that love is the main and most prized fruit, which binds the others together. Love is what motivates Paul when he writes to the new Christians, whether from chains in jail or from his travels among the churches. Love is the reason God created us, and sent his Son to redeem us. Love is what fills and overflows from us as the Spirit lives in us, enabling us to be God’s light in a darkened land.
May we love as we are loved.
By Rob Hille (own work) [CC0]
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13
This chapter in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is probably one of the most famous in the Bible, alongside Psalm 23. It’s read at weddings (yes, I read it once) and arranged decoratively and hung on a wall. But Paul addressed it to the Corinthian church, not to lovestruck couples. If we look at the two chapters on either side of chapter 13, we see his concern about how they are conducting themselves in worship, and specifically in regard to spiritual gifts. The most important thing is love – not being the star prophet or interpreter of a word of knowledge.
As Paul says, the greatest of faith, hope, and love is love. And that’s what will remain. It’s also the best and most powerful fruit we can grow. I find that the longer I travel the Christian walk, the more love I receive and the more love I am able to give out. A few years ago, this came home to me during the final session of a retreat I was leading in Spain. As I looked across the room at the diverse group of women, I was struck by the charism of love I had for each one of them. I was no longer a scared, unemotional, closed person, but one who loved and was loved. Each day as I don my new clothes of the new creation, God does his work of regeneration, changing me from the inside out.
How do you receive and share love? Who are the difficult ones in your life to whom you find it hard to extend love? (The relative, the friend who betrayed you, your neighbor?) As you read through this familiar chapter again, ask God to show you one person to whom you can show the love that always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.
To consider: ‘No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us’ (1 John 4:12).
Briton Rivière (1840–1920), The Temptation in the Wilderness; (c) City of London Corporation; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
As one who grew up in a church that uses set prayers in its services and observes seasons and rituals, I’ve known the season of Lent from my childhood. For me it’s an important time to prepare myself for Jesus’ death and resurrection; it’s a yearly reminder of my sins, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and God’s amazing grace in the gift of forgiveness and new life.
But I know that not all Christians love Lent. Some may be concerned about empty ritual, or believers engaging in unnecessary penance when Jesus has paid the price on the cross once and for all. Yet the benefits of a time set apart to examine myself before God have outweighed the potential pitfalls, and so I’d like to offer up some ideas for Lent as a way to deepen our love for and commitment to God. And as I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, these suggestions are based on words – and the Word. Following are some practices you can enact during Lent.
Focus on one book of the Bible
Lent is made up of 40 days (excluding Sundays), so it’s a wonderful time to hone in on one of the books of the Bible. Why not choose an Old Testament prophet, such as Isaiah, which is rich in foreshadowing our Saviour? With Isaiah’s 66 chapters, you could read one chapter on Mondays to Fridays, and then two-three chapters on each day of the weekend. Or a gospel makes prime reading in Lent as it helps us focus on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Many Christians also add praying through one of the Psalms daily.
Add a practice of giving or forgiving
Many people see Lent as a time of fasting or taking away, but we’ve seen through the #40acts movement how we can add a practice to prepare for Easter. Through committing to 40 acts of generosity – things such as giving away chocolate or supporting the Fairtrade movement – Christians embrace the joy of giving as rooted in God’s gift of his son, Jesus.
Along with giving, we can embrace more forgiving. I was reminded of this recently when a long-time disciple of Christ, a woman who has seen heartache and pain but whose heart remains tender, said, ‘We can always forgive a little bit more.’ She and I were talking about my book, The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life (BRF, 2016), which engages with readings from the Old Testament and the New on the theme of forgiveness (more on it below). Her words struck me as so wise, for in this fallen world where we experience disappointment, betrayal and pain, we need a regular practice of forgiveness to keep us from becoming bitter and lacking hope.
Why not commit to daily forgiveness? I’m not suggesting we go digging for unconfessed sins, or for people to forgive whom we haven’t considered for decades, but we can trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us in a sort of spring cleaning of the soul. Forgiveness is freeing – we’ll approach the resurrection of Jesus with a new sense of joy if we’ve been able to release the pain that may weigh us down.
Meet with fellow Christians
Lent is a wonderful time to meet with others while reading and discussing Christian resources. One year our church engaged in the E100 Challenge as produced by Scripture Union. I begrudgingly gave up my own programme of Bible reading to join in, and I was so glad that I did. Each week we’d share our thoughts and new understanding, and we’d also be encouraged by what others gained through the experience. I saw new things about the Bible as a whole from this programme.
There are many resources to choose from, which leads me to my final point…
Read a book
Why not read a book specially prepared for Lent? I mentioned mine, The Living Cross, about which Catherine Campbell has said,
A Lenten journey you won’t want to miss. From the Fall to the Cross and beyond, Amy Boucher Pye walks us down the centuries to meet the One she calls the “Father of outstretched arms.” With captivating writing and inspiring biblical insight, we are reassured from the stories of fallen heroes, fallible leaders and plain ordinary sinners that God’s lavish forgiveness is available to each one of us. The more I read the more excited I became, and the more thankful I am for God’s “scandalous grace and love poured out.” Simply superb. I can’t wait to read it again!
I learned so much about forgiveness while writing this book, including how in the Old Testament, people didn’t assume they could forgive others – for them, forgiveness came from God. But with the death of Jesus, we now can not only of receive forgiveness from God, but others as well – and we can extend it ourselves.
My favourite Lenten book is Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin (Zondervan, 1992). He’s a master storyteller, and writes here as a participant in the passion events. He transports us to a vivid world of sights and smells that bring the story alive, engaging our heads and our hearts. I can’t recommend this book enough.
Whether you manage to engage in a new practice each day in Lent, or not quite as regularly, I trust the Lord will help you to draw closer to him in your journey. As we approach the celebration of the resurrection, I pray that you will feel the joy of know that Christ is risen – indeed, he is risen!
“How long did it take for you to write the books and complete the MA?”
“Three years,” I said.
“And how long do you think you’d give someone else to do that?”
“Hmmm…. Probably five years.”
“So you’re two years ahead! You can take some time off.”
As I think about a conversation with a wise friend yesterday, I know I enter 2018 with far fewer deadlines than in the recent past. That’s the plan, for I’m tired and worn out. Yes, I want to write some more books and ponder what I’ve learned about Christian spirituality, but not right away. But how do we just turn off the drive to do, do, do? To accomplish something? To make a difference? And how do we do that in a world of social media, where I see authors signing contracts for their next books while wondering if I’m missing out?
We – that is, I – need to be intentional in my plan to rest. Yesterday in my conversation I talked about adding another word-of-the-year, this one replenish, one that a friend from high school had uttered a week ago and stuck with me. As I mentioned this word to my wise friend, she shared its Latin root and assured me that it’s an apt word to describe the filling up that I need to do this year.
Being intentional about resting seems counterintuitive to me, however. I am used to deadlines, goals, projects. I will need to adjust my approach. This week, the first week after fulfilling major deadlines, I’ve allowed myself to flop and watch some shows and not accomplish much at all. Next week I’ll make some gentle goals – such as taking down the Christmas decorations (!), playing around with some craft things, and going for walks in the brook.
How do you replenish your empty stores?
This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up. You can find today’s prompt here. If you are thinking about using a Lent book here, I wrote one during that busy time on the theme of forgiveness, The Living Cross.
Focus on one book of the Bible
Add a practice of giving or forgiving
Read a book
“How long did it take for you to write the books and complete the MA?”