Reading: Galatians 5: 16-23
Walk by the Spirit
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit,
21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
COMMENTARY
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us; love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.
Verses 22-23 give us the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit. Every Christian should have these fruits in Him- Then we will be able to lead a spirit filled life and walk with Him daily.
As we look at each fruit,let us ponder and examine, if we ourselves possess any of the fruits.
LOVE - It is very wide and deep. Love is easier said than done, but yet, we are told to love our neighours, friends and above all, our enemies. During the past one week, have we hated someone instead of loving him? "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you".
JOY - Is there joy in our lives? Are we living a gloomy life? Think of some instances where we once experienced joy. A birthday, a wedding, a re-birth for believers or maybe, getting a raise in salary. Rejoice in the Lord always.
PEACE - Are we living in peace with God or with our relatives and friend. Have you been troubled finding no peace in your heart? Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace 'I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let your hearts not be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
PATIENCE - It is really very hard to observe, yet patience is one of the fruits of the spirit. Have we often lost our patience on a job not done on time, waited for someone who came 10 minutes late?
KINDNESS - Be kind one to another. Often, we miss this simple act of kindness. Give up your seat to an old lady, help a blind man cross the road, are simple acts of kindness too.
GOODNESS - May be we also overlooked this fruit, goodness, to our colleagues, our families, our boss or even goodness to an animal like a pet cat.
FAITHFULNESS Is a fruit that, as believers, we should be faithful to our God. As husband, we should be faithful to our wife and as employee we should be faithful to our employer.
GENTLENESS - It is not confined only to the ladies. Men do have gentleness too. A gentle approach towards an aggressive matter can help to cool the situation.
SELF-CONTROL - Are we hot tempered? Do we restrain our compulsive action towards minor incidents? Are we self-controlled enough to maintain our posture even if we have been provoked.
Let us look again at all these 9 fruits. How many do we possess? One, two, three or to some, 9?
But for those who truly trust God and are guided by the Holy Spirit to lead a spiritual life, all these fruits are in him. If we have missed out some of the fruits, let us ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with it.
NEWS
PRAYER (say together)
HEAVENLY FATHER, as we look at Jesus Christ, we see in Him all the fruits as mentioned by you. He has led a life full of it and according to your will.
Let us follow His example. Fill us, O God with the fruits of the spirit. Let us have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and, self-control.
