by Barbara Latta
The Fruit of the Spirit – Love
How do we walk in love in a world filled with hate? Die to
self.
That’s one thing Lucifer didn’t do. He exalted himself bringing hate and
evil into the world. Ever since Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation to exalt
themselves in the same way, selfishness has dominated fallen mankind. And love
cannot be shown when self is in the way.
How do we die to self?
Put God first. Only then can we put others needs before our
own.
During World War II, the ten Boom family of Holland dedicated
their lives to procuring safe houses for Jews who were being persecuted and
hunted down by Nazis. A room behind a false wall gave a hiding place to protect
the Jews who were running for their lives.
Everyone of the ten Boom family, except Corrie, perished
because they chose to put others first. While in prison, Corrie and her sister,
Betsy, were able to bring other women to know Christ despite the dire
circumstances they were living in.
When she shared what she had learned in the prison, Corrie said,
“There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”
Only the Holy Spirit can produce that love. And when we
surrender to Christ, that same Spirit
indwells us and puts his attributes in
us.
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law.
Notice the verse says fruit as singular and not fruits.
While there are nine different qualities listed, they are all one gift given at
the time the Spirit comes to live inside us. Because the Spirit of God doesn’t
just have all these traits, He is all these traits. This is the
personality of the Spirit who lives within us.
Daily life can challenge our relationships. Sometimes we
fail. We call out to God to help us and give us more love or joy. But if we realize
all those traits are already given to us in our spirits, we can see more
clearly how to draw upon them. The fruit
doesn’t come and go with our emotions. We may pick and choose which attribute
to use, but the same fruit is always there.
Our soulish realm is where we fail. Because our minds get in
the way, we think we don’t have this fruit and we must keep asking for it.
When I was very young, my grandparents lived in a house out in
the country that had a well for water. A bucket was tied to a post at
the top of the well cover and if you wanted water, the bucket had to be dropped and water scooped into it and before it was brought back to the surface.
The same is true in our spirits. We lower the bucket by
digging into the Word and scooping that Word into our minds to drink so we can
exhibit the gift that has already been given to us. The water in my grandparent's well was
always there, but if we wanted some, someone had to lower the bucket and get
it.
Let nothing be done
through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own
interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4-5).
Putting God first will result in putting other people first,
just like the ten Boom family did. We may never be put into the same situation this
Dutch family was in, but we can still let the love of Christ shine through in
everything from small to great.
In family life, we can defer to our spouses and children to
allow their needs or wants to be met first. I can’t say I have always done
this, but when I have the reward of seeing that happy glow on faces was worth
whatever time or comfort I gave up.
My husband supports my writing efforts, even though writing
is not one of his interests. He has used some of his vacation time from work to
go to writing conferences with me just so I wouldn’t have to go alone. He put
my needs above his own even though there wasn’t a lot for him to do while I was
in meetings. He supports the time I spend writing and never says anything about
the money I spend learning the craft. He truly shows the love of Christ as in Ephesians
5:25.
When my boys were small, they would want to play ball in the
yard. I would look at work that needed to be done in the house, but now I am glad I did go outside and
play little boy baseball while they ran homemade bases across the yard.
Deferring to unpleasant people is more difficult than
putting our family members first. I’ve seen people in buffet lines cutting in
front of others to get the last piece of chicken or pie as if they would die of
starvation if someone else got there first. Standing aside to let someone else
get what we want may not feel like love, but it the starting point to dying to
self.
These acts seem insignificant in the light of the response
of people like the ten Boom family, but each exhibition of love reflects the
Holy Spirit and they can be stepping stones to other circumstances we may be
called to face. Once we have taken the first step of dying to self, the next
one isn’t as difficult.
And of course, Jesus is the ultimate example. His entire
ministry was focused on fulfilling God’s will and ministering to people at the
expense of His own comfort and safety. When dying on the cross, He was still
thinking of others. He asked God to forgive those who stood at the foot of the
cross mocking Him (Luke 23:34). He thought
of His mother and gave her care over to John (Luke 19:26-27).
When we focus on God and not ourselves, the love will come
out. It isn’t supposed to be something that takes effort. It flows when we open
the gate.
He who believes in Me,
as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John
7:38).
How do we walk in love in a world so filled with hate? Die
to self and let the Spirit shine through.
Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us (Romans 5:5).
Join the conversation and share your thoughts. What are some
ways you have seen love in action?
TWEETABLES
No comments:
Post a Comment