Galatians 5: 22- 23:But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
At Eastside Apo's Saturday night service this week Clive Smit made an off handed comment about serving up the fruit of the spirit to those around us. This shouldn't be a massive revelation, but it suddenly dawned on me, the fruit of the spirit is served up to others.
We (or maybe it was just me?) think of the fruit of the spirit as something we should get, something we should acquire but actually the fruit of the spirit is what we serve up to others. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be more filled with the fruit of the spirit, it just moves the focus not on what I should put in my life, but on how my life affects others.
Who benefits when you show patience, love, self-control, etc? Sure there is some benefit to me in that it might grow me or save me from upsetting a friend but the one who really benefits is the person I am patient with, the person who doesn't get a tongue lashing because I showed self-control.
No wonder there is no law against such things! The Fruit of the Spirit are first and foremost gifts to the world.
