“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)
A little person in the home will prove the reality — or not — of these fruit . Most of us overflow with love when it is focused on infants and toddlers in our families. They bring an abundance of joy to us, almost everyday.
Things get a little dicey, however, when it comes to peace. There is very little of that fruit until the child takes a nap. Even then, there is little peace because we are uneasy about how quite the little tyke is. We can’t enjoy the peace and quiet because we constantly run to the bedroom to see if he/she is alright.
And that fruit called patience . . . we begin to wish we had never prayed for this or any other child. My son says, “I prayed for patience and God gave me this son.” The truth is: patience is required when dealing with humans . . . no matter their ages. In fact, dealing with some adults requires more patience than dealing with immature children.
Then, there is the kindness — infants and toddlers require a truckload — along with goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. The adult will be tested in each of these fruit areas. I wonder if God has assigned an angel to record the results of these tests?
Self-control, the last of this fruit list, gives most of us the greatest trouble — especially in this self-gratifying society. And we whose tolerance for frustrations is low need special help from the Holy Spirit. On second thought, all these are the work of the Holy Spirit so we need his help with each one.
Dear Father, thank you for your fruit-growing plan. Enable us to yield to the Holy Spirit so his fruit will be real in our lives. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the Spirit’s fruit,