(and other thoughts on the Fruit of the Spirit)
So, perhaps that was a bit irreverent, but it is a delicious
sounding metaphor for the Fruit of the Spirit that Christians "grow."
Note that it's "fruit" not "fruits." That means that
they're all interconnected, and they should all be present in a Christian- so,
for example, you don't get to pick "faithfulness" and reject
"gentleness." And if you give the Spirit free reign, He'll grow your
fruit into a beautiful, ripe specimen of deliciousness. Try to avoid growing in
one area, though, and suddenly your life ends up looking something like this:
Not what you had in mind for your spiritual appearance?
Hmmm. We'd best take a look at what a well-rounded fruit looks like.
First, what are the different parts of the Fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians
5:22-23)? Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and Self-Control. Nine Fruits- and they can be hard to remember,
especially in a list format (unless you memorize them, but listing them by rote
doesn't really give you a good feel for what they are). So we had a fun,
if a bit cheesy, way to help keep them straight- we linked them with edible
fruit that shared some sort of characteristic or visual similarity to popular
metaphors.
·
Love- a strawberry (which is kind of
heart-shaped)
·
Joy- a banana (which looks like of like a smile)
·
Peace- a watermelon (because you have to eat it
in pieces)
·
Patience- an orange (since it requires effort and
time to peel away the outside and get to the good stuff inside)
·
Kindness- grapes (which are easy to share with
others)
·
Goodness- tomatoes, later changed to blueberries
(because they're really healthy for you!)
·
Faithfulness- a cherry (cherries have a pit-
reminding us that faith should be the rock-solid center of our lives)
·
Gentleness- a peach (because, really, what
requires more gentleness in handling than a peach?)
·
Self-Control- an apple (because you could really
stretch it into looking something somewhat like a stop sign. Or you could think
of the story of Adam and Eve, who didn't show any of this trait when it
came to apples- (thanks, Rob!).)
Now that we know what they are, and have a trick to help us
remember them, let's talk about what is really part of our fruity smoothie.
Love
“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish
for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.”- C.S. Lewis
We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. But when
you think about how you love yourself, you don't always feel affectionate
toward yourself. You might not always like yourself. And as part of loving
yourself, you might just force yourself to do hard things. Often, your love for
yourself is so well ingrained that you "love" yourself without even
thinking about it- you just want to do what's best for you. That kind of love
is our starting point- but just as you can love more than just yourself,
there's even more to love than just that kind.
So how do you define love outside of yourself? Well, we
often confuse "love" with the idea that we have to feel some sort of
attraction to a person; perhaps a romantic attraction, but at the least a
friendly one. The reality is, in our verse in Galatians, love is written as
"agape,"- not philos, not eros. Agape is the
kind of love God has for us, not the kind of love we have for a brother or the
kind of love we have for a spouse. We are to love as God loves us.
Unconditionally. Freely. And as anyone who's ever heard their parent say,
"I love you, but I don't really like you right now," knows- true love
transcends mere happy feelings. For more information on how this type of love
plays out, see 1
Corinthians 13 (which is also the quintessential wedding verse).
Joy
As selfishness
and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the
vision.
-Hellen Keller
Just as love is more than affectionate feelings, joy is more
than happiness. Happiness is certainly a part of it, but the word joy is
translated from the Greek "chara"- which, in its root word,
means grace. Joy comes from the grace of God, and true joy cannot happen apart
from Him. Why is this important? Well, if we take the English dictionary definition
of joy, we would find that it's primarily linked with pleasure, elation,
distinct happiness- and these all positive emotions. We might experience joy
while listening to great concert, seeing a good friend after a long time apart,
or finding out that the person we really, really like likes us back. Those are
all positive emotions that stem from positive situations. But then why do we
find so many references to joy sprinkled through the bible, such as 1
Thessalonians 1:6, which refer to joyous people under intense pressure and
persecution? Because as Christians, when we allow the Holy Spirit to grow joy
in us, we start to realize that positive emotions don't always have to come
from positive situations. Same way that others might tell you that you can
change your circumstances simply by changing your attitude, the Holy Spirit
tells us that He will give us joy, regardless of what we're experiencing, if we
let Him. Joy comes from the grace of God, regardless of whether we're eating a
delicious chocolate truffle while resting in the most serene woodland forest or
caring for a dying leper in the slums of Calcutta
Peace
Blessed are the
single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace... If you refuse to be hurried
and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that
clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you know what
His will is. - Amy Carmichael
What comes to mind when you think of peace? Military peace?
Being left alone by your siblings? Sitting in a serene and quiet environment?
Maybe the symbolic peace sign or a white dove? All of those images deal with
outward peace, and they are very valid descriptions of peace. Or maybe instead
of those things, your first thought was that peace means calming your inner
worries and concerns. That's a bit closer to what Peace (or eirene, in
Greek, shalom in Hebrew) means in our verse. It's the idea of wholeness
or completeness- and perhaps this is best tied to the parts of our smoothie.
When you're so full of God-given love and joy (to name just two) that your
inner parts can stop searching for other things to fill in the gaps, you are
more balanced, less likely to be infiltrated by the chaos around you. Note that
this peace doesn't require peaceful outer situations, and we as Christians are not
promised an easy life. Sometimes eirene peace shows up most when
life is craziest- when things are traumatic, or scary, or unstable, the peace
of God allows you to not go to pieces along with everything (and maybe
everyone) around you. It allows you to persevere and have patience- trusting in
God and knowing that the chaos will not last forever.
Patience
The key to everything is
patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. - Arnold
Patience is also called endurance, forbearance, fortitude,
continuance, constancy, perseverance. The idea is the same- it is continuing
calmly under tough circumstances. The tough circumstances might be small
annoyances with people in your life, it might be continual disappointments in
achieving a goal (Jonas Salk had 200 unsuccessful polio vaccines before
he found the one that worked), or it might be something much bigger- such as
religious persecution like Youcef
is facing. And the reality is that depending on our mindset and previous
experiences, the small annoyances might seem harder for us to persevere under
than the religious persecution. Regardless of the circumstances, though,
patience comes from God. Just remember that when you ask God for more patience,
He might give you the emotional feeling of patience- or He might just give you
more opportunities to practice patience. Use either gift with the joy of
knowing that God has heard your prayer!
Kindness
I shall pass
through this world but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any
kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer
it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. - Henry Drummond
Kindness (or "chrestotes," in Greek) is the
first part of our smoothie the requires our interaction with others to
determine how much kindness we really have. Our kindness is defined by how we
treat others- whether we show compassion and consideration, or whether we
stubbornly pursue our own interests first. Give someone the benefit of the
doubt, seek out opportunities to practice the Golden Rule, talk to that person
who really needs a friend (even though you might really want to focus on your
other friends)... kindness, in essence, is trying to make others feel
supported, cared for, recognized, and respected (shockingly, all things that
you probably also want to feel).
Goodness
Badness is only spoiled
goodness. - C.S. Lewis
Goodness is integrity, righteousness, virtue, moral
excellence. It is knowing what the right choice is and doing that- even though
it might be a lot easier to do the wrong thing. Goodness is the fruit that is
concerned about the quality and condition of your inner being. Just the
appearance of goodness isn't enough (though many people feel that if their
reputation is good, they've got this one covered). The most commonly noted
thing about this fruit is that it can be easy to get confused about where
goodness comes from and become proud of how incorruptible we are. Even though
goodness often requires tough decisions and extra effort on our part, goodness
doesn't actually come from us. Our goodness, just like our sense of joy or
patience, comes from God. We only know what is good by looking at Him and
trying to follow along.
Faithfulness
When you look at
the Cross, what do you see? You see God's awesome faithfulness. Nothing - not
even the instinct to spare His own Son - will turn him back from keeping His
word. -Sinclair B. Ferguson
Faithfulness ("pistis," in Greek) can also
be summed up in a couple of other words- loyalty, commitment, fidelity. It is
so much more than simple emotion, because emotions are temporary. Faithfulness
is ongoing, and it requires continual attention. Faithfulness isn't promising
perfection- it's promising continuity of intention. As you grow in this part of
the fruit, your continuity of intention gets easier and easier to keep.
Becoming a Christian is a lot like reciting a wedding vow to God- telling Him "through
better or worse, in sickness and in health, I will link my life with You. I
will trust You. I will love You." There's a reason we have the imagery of
the Church as Christ's bride- and there's a reason we bring God into our
wedding ceremonies. God is the originator of the idea of faithfulness. He
created us- and when we fall short of what He asked, He doesn't throw us out on
the street. He remains faithful, no matter how much we've ignored Him and hurt
Him. He loves you- He is committed to you. So if we want to grow in our
faithfulness to God, we can start by looking at how we as humans are faithful
to other humans. If you marry someone (or are thinking about marrying someone),
you notice them. You probably think about them more than you think about anyone
else. You talk to them. You think about what they want/ask you to do, and you
follow through. Does that look like your relationship with God? If not, maybe
it's time to ask Him to help you grow in faithfulness.
Gentleness
Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. -
Francis de Sales
Ever watch a five year old being taught to hold a baby? The
older child needs to learn how to treat the younger one, and a lot of attention
goes into the details- where to support his weight, how much firmness should be
in his grip in order to not hurt the little guy, what he can and cannot do
with the one in his grasp. In a word, he has to learn... gentleness. Why does a
parent spend so much time teaching these things? Because the parent knows,
beyond a doubt, that the older child is much stronger and more powerful than
the younger, and he is capable of creating great harm unless he knows how to be
gentle. Gentleness is NOT weakness or powerlessness- you never tell the
baby to be gentle with his older brother, because he doesn't have the strength
or mental capability to do anything harmful. You don't tell the 100 pound
weakling to be gentle with the 250 pound boxing champ. This command only goes
to the ones with great strength. And we are not babies, we are not weaklings.
We are more than capable of creating hurt, alienation, discomfort, and dissent.
We have real power. So God, our Father, teaches us how to treat our brothers
and sisters. How to reign in our power (in words, thoughts, and actions) in
order to build up relationships, be helpful to others, and how to correct a
wrong doing without tearing someone apart.
Self-Control
I am a spiritual being...
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot
rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be
impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be
taught only by Christ. - Max Lucado
Oooh. Self-control. Egkrateia. Quite frankly, even in
Greek, it sounds... not so fun. Why wouldn't you want to let yourself do
whatever feels good at the moment? Just roll with it, enjoy the moment, free
yourself. We have all sorts of phrases that go against the idea of
self-control. But have you ever felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh in a
completely inappropriate place- like, perhaps, during a really important speech
or at a funeral? Been terrified of falling while standing at the edge of a
cliff? Blurted out a really private thought and immediately wished you could
take it back? Those feelings of mortification, fear, and shame all stem from a
real or perceived lack of self-control. We recognize within the fabric of who
we are that there are moments when self-control is necessary and desirable (see
the examples above), though we don't often consciously attribute our actions to
a desire to remain in control. Instead, we usually fall into two extremes when
it comes to self-control. One extreme is trying to control absolutely
everything ourselves, forgetting that God is ultimately the one who makes our
plans succeed or fail (both for our own good). You're never going to have
control over everything, and you can knock yourself out trying. The second
extreme is to say that self-control is old fashioned, boring, and for people
who are too stupid to think for themselves- confusing self-control with
unexamined rule following. Following this extreme is more or less flinging
yourself all over the place, not worrying about the consequences- come what
may, right? Of course, one person can have both of these extremes in different
parts of his or her life, but either extreme is false and harmful.
So what is Christian self-control, really? It's really
closer to a combination of self-examination and reaction. It's recognizing thoughts
and habits for what they really are-- good and bad-- and what their causes and
effects are; self-control then changes them as necessary to line up more
closely with God's will. Self-control might just be recognizing that a TV show
makes your thoughts discontent with your life and your faith- and then deciding
to stop watching that show for your own ultimate good. Self-control might also
be recognizing that volunteering to rake leaves will really help out the little
old man who can't do it himself anymore- and then deciding to keep your
commitment to do it, even though it conflicts with an invitation from someone
you'd really like to impress. Self-control might be recognizing that your
thoughts tend to be really angry and hurt when you think about a specific
person- and deciding to say a breath prayer to stop yourself from spiraling
downward. In all three examples, self-control is more than just following
"orders" from God- it gives you a whole 'nother reward for practicing
it. It makes you stop wanting things you can't have, it gives you a sense of
integrity, accomplishment, and joy, and it keeps you from winding yourself up
in anger. So if, with the help of God, one "fruit" could improve the
emotions you experience, help you avoid situations that damage your person or
your sense of purpose, and improve your relationships with others AND God- why
wouldn't you want more of it?
5 minutes of God Time: Take my Life by Chris Tomlin
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