A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Howard talked a little bit about the Fruit of the Spirit and how Christians should be producing this kind of fruit in their lives. I thought it would be good for us to take a closer look at each individual fruit and what it should look like in our lives. So let's start by listing the Fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (NKJV)
LOVE
When I think about love, my mind automatically goes to 1 Corinthians 13. Let's look at part of that chapter and see what it has to tell us about love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV)
"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
I want to break this apart and look at each characteristic of love. Love is patient and kind. I won't go into too much detail on these because they will be covered as other Fruits of the Spirit, but someone who loves does not get easily frustrated with others. He responds kindly to those he comes in contact with.
Love does not envy and is neither proud nor arrogant. Covetousness or envy is something that is spoken against in the Ten Commandments. A person who loves is content with what he has and doesn't desire the things or accomplishments of others. He is also humble and doesn't go around talking about himself and what he has done. He knows that all of his accomplishments are due to the help of God. He does not think himself better than others.
Love is not rude. That means that he shows due respect to others because everyone deserves to be treated with respect. I think rudeness also includes course speech. A person who loves others will be careful to make sure that his words and actions show his respect for others.
Love does not have to have his own way. A loving person accepts the fact that his idea isn't always the best, that other people's opinions matter. Love is not irritable or resentful. Once again, I think this goes back to respecting others and their opinions. A person who loves others is not irritated by those who do not agree with him, but is willing to work with that person anyway. He does not hold a grudge. He forgives and moves on not keeping a count of the ways others have done him wrong.
Love is not joyful of wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. The loving person is happy when he sees others do right and speak the truth, not when they lie or do things they know are wrong. He is grieved by sin.
The Amplified Bible translates verse 7 this way, " Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]." Nothing can break down true love, it gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, its hope does not waver, and it can endure anything. I think this verse is a beautiful picture of Christ and His love for us. God continues to love us, even when we fail. He gives us the benefit of the doubt when we repent that we will truly turn away for our sin. When Christ died on the cross for our sins, he endured great suffering and agony all because he loved us. How can anything we could ever face in life compare to the sorrows He suffered on Calvary, yet He endured because of love. Romans 8:38-39 say this, " For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
