One of the things that I have always tried to keep on my mind (usually with very little success) is the list of the fruits of the spirit...
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
I can remember various times in my life when these verses have come up in conversation and even a sermon or two. I even remember a devotion during one of my "college summer HOTBE experiences" when the goal for the week was to remember the fruits of the spirit and to keep a record of how often we lived them. And I can tell you right now that these nine fruits were "not plentiful in number" on the HOTBE campgrounds. But I still remember trying to concentrate on them all week long. And for the most part, I did pretty well...
LOVE... not a problem...I have plenty to give.
JOY...have you seen me in the morning? Every day is a brand new day to shine!!!
PEACE...a little more difficult to find, but not impossible. Mission accomplished!
Then we get to fruit #4...
PATIENCE. You kidding me? I can meet, get to know, fall in love with, get married to, raise children with, and divorce someone in under 60 seconds...(Shane can you vouch for me?) Every time, I get stuck on number 4. It's my downfall, so its obviously what I pray about most. And God is good...all the time. I pray for it, he tests me, I fail. Rinse. Repeat.
But I'm working on it! So let's move on...
KINDNESS...check!
GOODNESS...I do my best and I believe that nothing done in faith will ever fail...so I'm good!
FAITHFULNESS...Not a test I always pass...but one I'm willing to take over and over again.
GENTLENESS...Yes. Interpretation is not found in the giving, but in the receiving.
SELF-CONTROL...Ouch. I can't say that I'm very successful here.
Well...I still passed!!! 7 out of 9 is almost 78%.
Which makes me wonder...
If Patience and Self-Control are missing from my life...what have I replaced them with?
If there are Fruits of the Spirit to guide me in the way I should live...are their Fruits of the World that drive me when I fail in the pursuit?
And how would a verse like the one from Galatians sound if quoted from the Worldly Human Perspective?
But the fruit of the World is hate, sorrow, worry, nervousness, selfishness, evil, doubt, force and abandon. With such things there is no hope.
Earthbound 1:2-3
Instead of LOVE...would I focus on HATE?
I casually use this word to describe my feeling toward movies and food, but how do I use it when I don't get my way?
How often do I trade JOY for SORROW...on purpose?
Is it easier for me to wallow in self-pity than to try to understand the circumstance and what God would have me learn from it?
Why is PEACE so carelessly replaced with WORRY?
I tend to over-analyze everything. I'm told that it's human nature; but am I only human?
Do I dare let you know that it's not PATIENCE that I possess but NERVOUSNESS.
"What if...I just need it right now...I could be wrong...but what if I'm not?" I have an earthly need to be in control.
Is what I think an act of KINDNESS really done out of SELFISHNESS? I always have the best of intentions...but what's really in it for me?
GOODNESS can't be EVIL in disguise...can it? I mean, if I hide the talent that God has given me, rather than multiply it for his glory, it's only because I didn't want to lose it...I want him to see how well I can take care of things...I want him to be proud of me.
I know that I sometimes lack FAITHFULNESS...but that's only because I have so much DOUBT. What if I screw everything up and make the wrong choices? I mean, I only get one chance at life right?
And GENTLENESS...what is that really? Isn't FORCE a better way for me to get what I want? Nobody is going to hand me life on a silver platter...besides I never intend to hurt anyone, so that makes it OK doesn't it?
SELF-CONTROL is impossible...lets face it. Reckless ABANDON is what seems to keep the world spinning.
Are these the seeds I sow? Is this the harvest I reap? Is this my fate?
Not on your life...and thankfully, not on mine.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
WHEW...
I think I'll leave the farming to the one who knows how to do it...I'll just buy my fruit from his stand and be about my business.
