Love In Action
Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
A few years ago, I learned that the original hearers of this Bible passage had a piece of information most of us don’t have. It seems that when you make a list like this one in Greek, the language the New Testament was originally written in, all the items on the list point to the first word. They describe the first word – which in this case is love. Love is filled with joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All of those words are what love looks like in action.
The love we experience in Christ bears fruit in all these ways of being and living out love. These spiritual fruits change the way we experience life in this material world. Over a decade ago, I decided to try a brief moment of meditation each morning on these words – saying them slowly – hoping that with each word I’d find more opportunities to let God bring these words into my life. It’s a never-ending journey, but I’m glad to be on it!
Reflection Questions:
- Which fruit sticks out as one you’d like to especially pray for more of today?
- How have you experienced patience as a part of love?
- How can you ask God to help you put love in action in your relationships with other people this week?
Prayer: Dear God, Help me this day to let your love bear fruit in my life. Amen