Galatians 5:22-25
22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
This passage brings tremendous comfort. Certainly neither the Christ the King family nor the Deo family, has transcended the challenges and frustrations of life to bear only these Utopian fruit. In our personal family life right now, we struggle most with patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control as we try to balance our family and work responsibilities. All too often, the worm of exhaustion eats away where joy once flourished.
So where is the comfort? Borrowing a bit from Rob Bell, it is in knowing that love and all the other good “fruit” have already won. The bad, no matter how insidiously it creeps into our lives, cannot and will not overcome Christ’s perfect love. The price for our failures whether past, present, or future has already been paid.
While it seems an impossible struggle to reach the spiritual heights described in this passage, Christ has modeled the way for us. So, we have something to shoot for. Even more he has given us the Spirit as a guide. When we are not able to show kindness and self-control, something is wrong and we know adjustments must be made.
We are so thankful that God created the sanctuary of our household and church families, where we can sort fruit together and work towards a perfect feast.
John and Liz Deo
For reflection:
Where are the “sanctuaries” in your life, where you can contemplate the health of your spiritual fruit?
What does it mean to “belong to Christ,” and how does it differentiate you from the ways of the world?
What are the fruits that you find the most difficult to nurture, and why?
Seeing the fingerprints of God in all things recognizes God's presence in all things. Too often we confine "God" to spaces and places. For instance we describe our church as having "a" sanctuary, an inner holy space for God, yet in reality we all know we hold worship in several places; The main sanctuary, the Ludder Hall Sanctuary, and out at Kate's place for Easter Sunrise. In exile, the Isarealites learned that no matter where they were, as they gathered around the Torah, it was "sanctuary". Their previous understanding of the Temple being the one holy place for worship was broadened to an understanding that "God meets us right where we are." Today's passage guides me in both the best of moments and the worst of moments, God's abiding presence ushers in a sense of sanctuary for all. Belonging is no longer an event but rather a state of being, we are God's, all is God's, this is Good News! This is sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteYet I also must acknowledge a fondness for "special" places in which "Holy Moments" of reflection and deep connection are more regularly felt. Large cathedrals can very much be a special place. A small chapel or location deep in the woods can provide added quietness for reflection. In the middle of a lake or large body of water, or floating while snorkeling over a reef. Sanctuary is a wonderful spiritual fruit to nurture and cultivate!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete