The Fruit Of
The Spirit Is Love
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the
flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit
desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent
you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not
subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger,
quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will
not inherit the
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no
law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:16-24
Being rushed ratchets up the stress level we feel and shortens the
fuse. When that happens, we not only fail to be patient but we undercut the
Spirit’s work in our lives.
Patience is not just a virtue, it is a
fruit of the Spirit, which means that demonstrations of impatience reveal the
sour fruit of our fallen hearts rather than the sweetness of Jesus in our
lives. Since God is a patient God, when we abandon patience we miss the
opportunity to show our world the glory of God through our lives.
Take a deep breath and turn your focus away from yourself by
patiently loving others instead of yourself in the midst of stress.
Patience gives us the privilege of sharing the refreshing fruit of
God with others.
Be patient. Show your world what God is
really like.
Our Daily Bread – September 25, 2008