VINE
OF LOVE
Galatians
5:22-23
“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.”
“Teach me patience, Lord!” ten year
old Cassie muttered to herself. She was
fed up hanging out with her classmates at the swimming pool. They huddled together whispering about other
girls who wore bikini swim suits.
“Be careful what you ask for.”
Cassie heard, coming from somewhere within her mind. She giggled to herself. I hear
You, Lord. Please teach me how to love
those who aren’t nice to others. Cassie
thought her prayer before diving into the pool.
Every fruit of the Spirit listed in
the opening Scripture originates in God. How do people obtain the Spirit’s
fruit? These virtues are produced when
God’s Spirit lives inside. His job is to
grow believers into the likeness of Christ.
The process is on-going day after day.
Developing patience requires growing through frustrating circumstances
like Cassie is experiencing right now.
Growing into Christ likeness,
sanctification [sank-tif-i-KA-shon], takes a lifetime. No wonder—if believers must struggle through growing
past human nature! Galatians 5:24 says,
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its
passions and desires.”
“Crucified” sounds harsh. The passage just means that believers can
surrender themselves (our will) to Jesus every day. Giving ourselves up to Jesus’ Lordship is
easier to do after living awhile. We see
that having our own way doesn’t achieve God’s best for us…and we want God’s best! Jesus shows us how simple this process can be
in John 15. Check it out, verses 1-2,
and 4-5.
“I am the
vine, and My Father is the gardener. He
cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does
bear fruit He prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in Me, and I
will remain in you. No branch can bear
fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will
bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Take
Home Nugget
“Since we live by the
Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
Galatians 5:25-26 urges. Will Cassie’s classmates
ever grow past this Spirit lesson? See
the lesson linked below for appropriate Spirit behavior.
Holy
Father, life isn’t going like I want it.
Help me to surrender my will to You every day so that I can live life at
Your best—in Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.
J.D. Griffith
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