Galatians 5:22-26 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
We follow the Spirit’s lead. We no longer abide by the flesh, but we live by the Spirit. This is how we can at last live a genuinely free life. To keep in step with the Spirit is to benefit in the fruit of the Spirit: love, true happiness, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – all of which is for the benefit of the other person. The fruit of the Spirit is contra to the notion of I’ll-do-what-I-want freedom as it is explicitly outward facing for another. When we appropriate and implement what Christ won on the cross, we begin to see the value proposition of God’s freedom. This is the new way to be human, living in a new freedom, a “freedom for” fulfilled by God’s freely given love.
May the Spirit’s cry in our hearts be “I don’t have to, but I want to” as we sing “Labor of Love” by Pastor Jason Park (click here).
Prayer: Lord, we want to be yoked to you and live freely in the gospel of love. May life beget life to all those around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
-WW