Fruit of the Spirit – Love (part 1)
Fruit of the Spirit – Love (Part 1)
(By Ben Fronczek)
We are told that we are created in the very image of God. Since God is a spirit, so are we. In creating us, God also gave us a soul. When David wrote about God knitting us together in our mother’s womb, He actually put together an amazingly complex piece of work in each of us; one that is a spirit, with an individual soul, in a equally unique body for each of us.
By no means are we like an assembly line robot punched out in a cookie cutter fashion. Even though we all take a human form, either male or female, we are still unique and custom made according to God’s own design. When we come out of the womb and enter this world, I do not believe that we come out as a blank slate or with an empty mind. Rather I believe that we have been pre-programmed with information by God Himself.
God pre-programmed our flesh to function and take care of itself to some degree. I also believe that He pre-programmed our soul (that is our mind and being) with some of His own attributes. For example we have faith, hope, and demonstrate and feel love even a a very young age and it grows and matures as we grow older. We also love peace and sense the need for good morals and to some degree we know the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong. We also seem pre-programmed to nurture and take care for things. We also seem to have this uncanny urge to create, investigate, and learn more and more; which seems to lead us to back to Him. I don’t believe that we are born with a totally blank slate.
Unfortunately when sin entered the world, many things that were meant to be used and utilized for our good got twisted around. But thank God He stepped into our history and our personal lives to help us sort things out and lead us back down the right path. That’s why Jesus said, “I am the way.” Way to what? The way to get us back on that right path, and back to our Father.
He not only saved us from our self and our sin, He quite literally stepped into our life by sharing His own spirit with us to help us along.
Sort of reminds me of a computer. We buy a new computer. And when its bran new, its fresh, its clean or uncorrupted. But the more we use it and interact with the world on the world wide web, it has a tendency to get messed up and polluted with viruses and garbage that attacks some of the computer’s primary programs and it is left corrupted.
When that happens to my computer I have to take it over to the Geek Squad at the Best Buy store to fix it and clean out all the garbage. They usually do so by inserting a new program that cleans it out and helps protect it from future attacks.
When we returned to our maker, God, and accepted Jesus as our Lord, He cleaned us out. And rather than putting a new program in us to help protect us, He Himself entered us, that is His Spirit entered us to help us perform better and better if we choose to run with Him.
Even though we were once corrupted with sin, now we can daily take advantage of going back to the source to help us stay on track and even grow stronger.
As you know, we are not computers. We are a spirit with a soul that has the freedom to choose to utilize and enjoy His own attributes or not. We can choose to grow in these areas or to continue walking in the flesh which is contrary to the way of the Spirit. We are free to choose what fruit we shall bear.
As for me, I choose to learn more about and grow and walk in the way of the Spirit. I hope that you choose that path as well.
In the next few lessons I want to talk about some of these attributes which the Apostle Paul describes as, ‘fruit of the Spirit’.
The first and most important fruit, or natural by-product of God’s Spirit which He would like to see us develop in our life is God-like Love.
I stress God-like love because love is a very complex term describing a number of different feelings and behaviors.
We have a number of different words translated love from the Greek language, in our English Bibles. For example: Eros (έρως) means passionate love or sexual desire. Philia (φιλία) means friendship or brotherly love. Storge (στοργή) means “affection”, like that felt by parents for their children.
But God-like love is very special. The Greek word agape is used here in the text. It is a very unselfish kind of love. It is always seeking the other person best, even though at times we may not feel very passionate about what that person is doing.
It’s not about giving in to, or always going alone with this person. It’s not about being gentle and pussy-footing around someone so you don’t hurt their feelings when they are doing something foolish, wrong or ungodly. It’s all about really caring for them and doing what you think is best for them even if it means you have to confront or discipline them.
Scripture teaches us that God disciplines those He loves. In Proverbs 3:13 it says; ” My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
So sometimes agape love means that we have to confront someone because that may be what they really need.
Most of the time we don’t like to punish or discipline or confront others; including our kids. It can be very hard on us. Doing so can sometimes hurt us more because we know it will cause them pain. But we do it anyway because we love them and know it’s the right thing to do. And if we don’t do something we know it could lead to a worst problems in their future.
Going out of our way to correct or discipline someone we love is never an easy thing to do, especially when it comes to adults. Such a confrontation may stress you out. You may have to endure an argument, some hostility, some rejection and that hurts, especially when you know that you are telling the person, or giving them what they really need.
So this God-like love, agape love; can cost us something of our self. It may involve a major sacrifice on our part to help the other person. It may even hurt us but we do it anyway.
Or this kind of love may simply involve going out of your way to do something nice for someone; whether it is giving words of encouragement, sending someone a card, calling someone on the phone, or literally helping someone do something. It may just involve making yourself available, supporting someone with your presence. Sometimes words won’t even need to be said. Or it may just cost you something as simple as a hug, a gentle touch, or even a smile… whatever. Or it may even cost you financially. But in the end you believe it’s worth it all to bless the other person and seek their best.
Isn’t that what God did for each one of us? Isn’t that what He continues to do for us still? The very fact that He sent His son into the world to save us cost Him probably more than we will ever know. Why did He do it?
Because He loves us and He wanted to save us from Hell, seeking out our best and bringing us home one day. And for Him, for some reason what ever it cost, He thought it was worth it.
And now His Spirit who lives in us wants to help us reach a point of maturity whereby we will love others to the same degree. This kind of love is just the most obvious and most important natural by-product (or fruit) of the Spirit and living the Spirit filled life.
I personally believe that all of the other fruit of the Spirit (joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness), if they are going to be seen in us, they hinge on our ability to love like this, like God.
Think about it, could you really have inner peace, or Joy in your heart, or patience for others, could you be kind or gentle and faithful without having love?
The Spirit of God wants to help you learn to love that much.
I’m sure the devil wants to prevent you from even caring for others. He will always have you put yourself and your needs before others. But that’s what Paul calls the way of the flesh or acts of the flesh, which are selfish.
Want to drive the devil crazy and foil some of his plans? Then make a commitment each day to love others the way God would love them if He were in our place. That will drive the devil up the wall. Because there is nothing more powerful, and nothing more God-like in this world than this kind of Love.
In Mark 12:30-31 when asked what is most the important of all Jesus said to 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
1 John 3:16-18 John wrote “16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” That’s Agape!
Do you want to demonstrate the power of God in this world, in this generation and in your own home and put the devil at bay? Then each day when you wake make a commitment to love others. Do what you believe is best for people you come in contact with. If you are not sure what that is, turn to God and pray and ask for His wisdom as you deal with the individual. And then be strong.
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