Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Today I’m starting a short series on the Fruits of the Spirit, as listed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians Chapter 5. The Holy Spirit influenced my wife to suggest this, and who am I to ignore a God-filled suggestion?

The first of the fruits is love. When people in this day and age refer to Christians as haters, it causes me great distress. God as expressed in the Holy Trinity IS love.

Rather than trying to interpret this Fruit of the Spirit, let me just quote some of the most powerful statements about Love in the New Testament:

'But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! '

Galatians 5:22-23

‘For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’

John 3:16

'It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. '

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

'And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Romans 8:38-39

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash