"But the fruit of the Spirit is love..." ~Galatians 5:22a
As we dive deeper into our fruits of the Spirit series this week, we come now to the topic of love, the first fruit of the Spirit we will be studying together.
We live in a culture and time wherein there are a multitude of varying definitions of what love is and what it means. Some believe that to love someone means that you agree with and support anything and everything they ever do. Some believe it means never saying "no" or exercising boundaries. Others believe in the idea of "tough love" and never temper what they say or do with other fruits of the Spirit such as gentleness or kindness.
For these reasons and more, it is important for us to allow Scripture to define for us what love is and what it is not. For that, we turn to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
In other words, love is patient, kind, not envious of others, not prideful and arrogant, not rude and selfish, not easily angered, not given to jumping to conclusions about others, does not rejoice in evil but in truth, and is given to belief, hope, and endurance.
If the way we most often view and treat others does not reflect these characteristics, if we are easily angered with our children, if we regularly seek our own in our marriages, if we jump to conclusions about people, then no matter how much we might claim to love them, we are actually not exhibiting or practicing the love that is a fruit of the Spirit.
The love that comes from the Spirit (and remember - it does come from the Spirit! If you want to have this love in your heart for others, you will have to walk by the Spirit in close relationship with Him in order for Him to produce it in you!) must look like the way love is described in 1 Corinthians 13 or else it is not the love of the Spirit.
May we purpose to walk by the Spirit today and everyday, that we might have this love cultivated in our hearts and show it to others daily.
Reflection Questions:
1) What stood out to you about today's study?
2) Did anything about today's study surprise you?
3) In what ways are you exhibiting true love for others and in what ways are you not?
8 Love never fails.
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