But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
(Ashlee Culverhouse)
When I think about that verse, I feel a mixture of emotions. There is a wave of humility that crashes over me as I think about a Savior who exhibits these characteristics eternally and I can barely make it to the store without road rage. There is also a deep, unworldly grip that takes my heart and pulls it into light and truth that makes me gasp for breath. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, liken it to a lifetime journey searching for the meaning of life and then returning home to see it was there all along. It’s a revelation in a sentence. It’s what we search for, it’s what we yearn for, it’s what would fix everything.
We are broken. All of us. It’s not something we can change or fix or ignore. That chapter of the human race’s story is over. Imagine it: we were a perfect mirror. There were no flaws or smudges, just the beautiful reflection of God. Then, as most of us know, it all went terribly wrong. We chose ourselves over God. Cue the crashing of our mirror into millions of tiny pieces. Jagged, imperfect imitations of what once was. Brokenness that creates more brokenness. For years and years, we have searched for the answer to fix it all. How do we pick up the pieces? How do we pull it all together to create something beautiful again?
Jesus.
Always, always Jesus.
Jesus died for us. He saved us from living forever in a tiny million pieces. He taught us how to be the beautiful reflection of God again. Yet, we still struggle with sin. We still choose ourselves time and time again. God’s grace is greater than I could begin to understand. He forgives us anyway. However, He is a good Father, and a good Father wants better for His children. We are not meant to take advantage of His grace and live lives that dishonor Him. We are meant to glorify Him in everything we do.
(Ashlee Culverhouse)
This brings me back to the verse. The Fruits of the Spirit is a well-known but under appreciated concept. I’ve read it before but my perspective of it completely changed when the pastor at my church did a sermon based on it. His perspective was relational. In quick summation, we grow closer to each other by growing as individuals in our relationship with God. The way to do this is through living out the Fruits of the Spirit. He said it doesn’t matter how much Biblical knowledge you have (even though that’s great), what matters is how you are living your life with others. Are you showing love? Joy? Patience? Gentleness? Faithfulness? Or are you gravitating to their opposites like hate, negativity, impatience, and unfaithfulness? The Fruits bring you closer to God and others, their counterparts alienate and corrupt you.
If you’re interested in listening to the message (which I highly recommend you do), click here
My heart was just rocked by this! Sometimes you know things (I mean, duh Alex, of course God wants you to live out the Fruits of the Spirit), but it takes a fresh perspective to just change everything. It made me change the way I view interactions, people, and how God can use me to witness to others.
Why did that interaction cause me pain? There was no gentleness.
Why is it so meaningful when my husband prays with me? Faithfulness and love.
Why are there so many broken marriages, friendships, and families? Absence of the Fruits of the Spirit.
Why do I love working with kids? They give joy so freely.
Why do I get upset when people don’t drive the speed I want them to? Lack of patience.
(Ashlee Culverhouse)
You see? Our world is shaped by our use or misuse of the Fruits of Spirit. We need more love and less hate. More joy and less negativity. More peace and less conflict. More patience and less discontent. More kindness and less meanness. More goodness and less immorality. More faithfulness and less unfaithfulness. More gentleness and less unkindness. More self-control and less unrestraint.
I created this blog to do just that. I wanted to create a space where there is light. Where God’s true purpose for our lives can have a platform. We can’t ignore the bad by shutting our doors and closing our windows while looking out into the world shaking our heads. We must spread light and love. We need to open our doors, our windows, and our hearts and plant seeds. Here’s my seed.
Fruits of My Spirit 