Fruit of Spirit: God's Way Over Our Own
Daily Scripture
Galatians 5:16-24
16 I say be guided by the Spirit and you won’t carry out your selfish desires. 17 A person’s selfish desires are set against the Spirit, and the Spirit is set against one’s selfish desires. They are opposed to each other, so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do. 18 But if you are being led by the Spirit, you aren’t under the Law. 19 The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, 20 idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, 21 jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that. I warn you as I have already warned you, that those who do these kinds of things won’t inherit God’s kingdom.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the self with its passions and its desires.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
To Christians in Galatia, Paul contrasted a life built around self (Greek “life in the flesh”) with a life led by God’s Spirit. “When Paul uses the word ‘flesh’…he does not intend us simply to think of the ‘physical’ world…. ‘flesh’ refers to people or things who share the corruptibility and mortality of the world… the rebellion of the world…. ‘Spirit’, by contrast, usually refers to God’s own spirit, the holy spirit.” * That’s what the expanded Creed pointed to by calling the Spirit “the giver of life.”
- The many ways humans miss the mark made Paul sad. (Review his examples in verses 19-21, noting how he mixed socially “respectable” actions with things almost everyone rejected.) But he didn’t see self-righteous “goodness” as a better choice (“all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse” —from Galatians 3:6-11). How did his use of the term “fruit” in 5:22 focus attention on the spiritual roots of the nine key Christian traits he listed as growing in our lives?
- With gentle irony (and deep seriousness), Paul followed his list of the fruit of the Spirit with the phrase, “There is no law against things like this.” Why would anyone (and certainly not God!) make a law against qualities that make life so much better? When have you let go of your own agenda, and found that God had given you something better, deeper and more freeing than the things you used to think you wanted?
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit. By your gentle, powerful presence, grow your beautiful fruit to fill and guide me to that wonderful life against which there is no law. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lauren Cook
Lauren Cook, who serves as Director of Online Engagement & Entry Points at Resurrection, wrote today’s Insight. She is a self-proclaimed foodie, a bookworm, and is always planning her next trip. She has the sweetest (and sassiest) daughter, Carolina Rae, a rockstar husband, Austin, and a cutie pup named Thunder. She loves connecting with others so let her know the best place you've ever eaten, best book you've ever read, or best place you've ever been!
It’s really, really hard to be a human.
I like to think that I’m a fairly good one in general, and I sometimes read this passage (especially Galatians 5:19-22) and think, “I’m good! At least I don’t [insert action produced by selfish motives listed in this passage].”
At least I don’t idolize like my neighbor does… (or have I fallen prey to idolizing work?)
At least I don’t lose my temper like that mom in the grocery store… (or have I done the same thing in a Target aisle?)
At least I don’t create conflict… (or did I maybe do that when I said something harmful about someone else?)
At least I’m not selfish… (or was I when I took an opportunity that I could’ve given someone else?)
It’s our human nature to fall short, to stray from the path. As humans, we want what we want and when we know how easy it can be to get it—we can make the easy choice instead of the right one. What isn’t okay is when we see the selfish motives in everyone around us, but us.
Our world is full of immorality, hate, fighting, conflict, rivalry, jealousy and everything else listed this passage. But these things don’t just live in those on the opposite side as us—they live in us, too. If we can see these things in others, can we also see their humanity? Can we see the places where they are also loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled? Are we providing a picture of these fruits so that others see them in us?
Just as it can be so easy to fall into the negative ways of the world, it can also become easier for others (and ourselves) to fall into the fruits of the Spirit when we see others living them.
Today, might we think instead:
At least I can choose patience with my partner today… (and maybe they will, too).
At least I can bring peace to this work conflict today… (and maybe they will, too).
At least I can choose joy in the midst of chaos today… (and maybe they will, too).
At least I can use my self-control when my neighbor comments on my yard… (and maybe they will, too).
At least I can lead with love, even when it feels like I’m the only one… (and maybe the world will, too).
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Wright, N.T., Paul for Everyone, Romans Part One: Chapters 1-8 (pp. 140-141). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
