Galatians 5:22-23 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.
Fruit is the culmination of the reproduction of an organism. We are God’s creations and through the Spirit we are called to bear fruit, to pass on the genetic code that God has planted in us. The genetic code of Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The two greatest commandments are , LOVE the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength; and, LOVE your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31).
We are called simply to LOVE.
Is it that simple?
How should we love? Who should we love?
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. (Corinthians 13:4-8)
Love, it’s easy to say. Is it so easy to do?
Love is an emotional word, rather than an action word. There are of course actions that spring from love – kindness and generosity being just two of them. Love is the basis of all the fruits of the Spirit.
True love is about others and not ourselves. It is about those we like and those we avoid. It is about getting alongside and not prejudging. It is about giving to others, our time, our gifts, our trust, and our effort.
And who shows us how and who to love? God, for he so loved the world that he sent his only Son in to the world, not to condemn the world but to save it. This was not an angry vengeful God, but a loving Father, prepared to give up the one thing he loved for you and for me.
So let us bear the fruit of love, without conditions, without expecting anything back, so that others may come to share in God’s love.