Fruit

Today at work we honored a recently retired co-worker for her many years of service. It was a great time to be together with the team, to hear about her new work, and to let her know how much we appreciated her time with us. Lance, our boss, read from Galatians 5... fruits of the Spirit... and challenged me in a big way. As Lance said, if these characteristics are evidence of a life walked in close relationship with the Father, then this servant of God really lived that out. Immediately, I began to ask myself, "Do I live that?" and my immediate response is, "heck no... at least not often enough!" What a challenge, to live out...

LOVE... toward people who love us and even more toward those who don't.

JOY... in the good times and in the hard times, even in the mediocre "blah" moments.

PEACE... when all of life seems to be in a state of unrest, and evil prevails all around.

PATIENCE... in those tough moments, when I really want to just scream, when God's answer doesn't seem to be coming fast enough, in seasons of waiting.

KINDNESS... kindness, KINDness, really? when I want to say something mean, sarcastic or exaggerated.

GOODNESS... will I ever grasp its true meaning? This is quite the opposite of my selfish nature.

FAITHFULNESS... when prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Faithful in thought, in word, and most of all in action... am I faithful to time commitments, to promises, to disciplines?

GENTLENESS... when the only words I have are harsh, when I want to snap, when my selfish attitude is far from gentle.

SELF-CONTROL... when my sinful nature wants momentary fulfillment, do I remember the greater good? God's bigger purpose?

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. - Galatians 5.22-23

What a challenge. Thankful for the reminder today.