“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians
5:22-23
“Compressed into these nine words we have not only the exact
statement as to what Christian character is, but a description, as well, of the
life that Christ lived while here on earth. It is also a statement of that
manner of life which He would have the Christian experience here and now. These
nine words form a Bible definition of what is meant by the phrase, “For me to
live is Christ.” Though the world strives at a shadow of what these nine words
represent, the reality is foreign to human nature, even when that nature is at
its best. These graces, as here presented, are exotics and are never found in
human nature unless produced there by the power of God. They are the ‘fruit of
the Spirit.’” L. S. Chafer, He That is
Spiritual.
So many times in our lives we are trying to be better Christians
and to please God with our lives. Many times we might be going about it in the
wrong way though. I remember early in my walk with God, that I saw other
Christians who seemed to have “it all together.” I wanted to be like them. And
so, I would try to do the same things they were doing. The problem was “I” was
trying to do all the work. I missed the whole point of being better for Christ
and His Kingdom, by just inserting the “I” part of the transforming life.
Later, when I found myself unable to do what others were doing, I got
frustrated and went backward in my Christian walk. I felt like many Christians today;
I got tired. I missed the whole point as Chafer said above; I tried to use the
human nature part of me to fuel the transformation process. I thought surely
that if I were trying to transform my
life that God would honor that part. I was wrong though. My “fuel” comes from
the Spirit’s ability to transform my life as I later discovered. Even in my
best efforts and strives to be better, it wasn’t enough. Why? Because of the
nature that lives within me has an inability to effect change without the One
who lives inside me giving me the “fuel” to do so. Besides, why would I think
that if God used His power to save me that He would leave my salvation to me
here while I’m on earth to struggle through until I get to heaven?
In our lives, if the aim were no higher than the standards
of the world, it might seem reasonable to try to build a Christian character;
but even then, there would be no Scripture to warrant the human struggle. The
True Christian character is the “fruit of the Spirit.” This means all I could
do in my own human effort would be to attain the standard of the world’s
character, which is flawed at best from the very beginning. Besides, if there
is a spiritual transformation to occur in my life, I must yield myself to the “spiritual”
influence that equips and “fuels” me to the direction and equipping from the
Spirit of God.
So how much of the Spirit are you yielding to today? Are you
trying to work your salvation out on your own and finding yourself tired and
worn out like I was? I beg you today not to neglect the inner “fuel” you have
which will always give you the ability to bring forth a harvest of the fruits
of the Spirit. Remember, the fruits are of the Spirit, not of our abilities and
efforts…
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