Galatians 5:22 and 23
The last few years I have really grown in my understanding of the Holy Spirit and his work. Studying the Bible with a goal of understanding the Holy Spirit has really helped me to see Galatians 5:22 and 23 in a different light. My understanding earlier was that love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control were character traits that I needed to work at having in my life. My understanding of how the Holy Spirit worked in that was pretty foggy. I am struggling to fully explain what I mean but basically I knew that I had received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because in Acts 2:38 it says "Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." and I had done that. But I treated the Holy Spirit as this "little helper" instead of seeing the power that He had to truly change my life. I still felt like I had to do all the hard work and the Holy Spirit would do little things like prick my conscience when I was doing something that I shouldn't, He might help bring things to memory, He might comfort me with His presence when I was sad but I wasn't looking to Him to radically work in me by His power. To grow in me - like beans grow on a bean plant or apples on a tree - the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
It isn't that I believe that after we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that we don't have to put any effort in on our own, that we just sit back and wait for the fruit of the Spirit to develop in us. But I think we need to be aware of His power to work in us and to let him work. But I guess a full discourse on the Holy Spirit will be for another day. I still have much more studying that I want to do. I would love to hear your thoughts on the work of the Spirit - even if you don't agree with me. :-)
Meanwhile, lets talk about love.....
Part of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is that we will love God and others. We see above that God's love is first poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. He continues to do that. Agape love (which is what God gives to us) is a sacrificial love. It is a love of choice, not of attraction or obligation. Agape love is unconcerned with self but is concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment and sacrifice without expecting anything in return. 1 Corinthians 13 has a pretty good definition of that love. Here is a portion of that:
"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. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7"
As I read more on what it really means to love others with agape love I admit I had a little feeling of overwhelm because there is not way that I can consistently love others like that on my own. And that is just the point. We cannot! We can only truly love like that by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we will still mess up! We are human and it shows pretty regularly.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7 and 8
Love is an integral part of our walk with God/our life as a Christ follower. God is love so unless we are living in love we are saying that we don't even know God! The love we have for each other is our message to the world -"I am a disciple of Jesus!"
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7
Let's pray that we and others will be strengthened with power through His Spirit so we can abound in love and the other fruits of the Spirit. Can you imagine how beautiful this world could be if all those that profess to follow Jesus Christ would love others with agape love?
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21
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