Galatians
5:22-23a - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (ESV)
John 14:26a - But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things. (ASV)
I use hairspray every day, and sometimes more than once a day if I am going out
in the evening. I have a can of hairspray in my bedroom where I do my hair. I
have a can of hairspray in the bathroom. I have an extra can of hairspray to
replace one when it is empty. Hairspray is part of my life -- no question about
it!
I have thought about the hairspray in those cans. It is a liquid, waiting to
come out to be used for its intended purpose. The only thing that can make it
come out is a push of the finger on the top button. Then the hairspray will
serve its purpose on my hair.
As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us. He has a purpose as
well. As we see in our text for today, He produces love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We have these
inside of us -- gifts from the Holy Spirit. Do we recognize that we have these
fruits of the Holy Spirit living inside us at all times? Or do we try to produce
those fruits of our own will power? Like the can of hairspray, are we willing to
be pushed in order to spray these qualities to others in our family? Our
neighbourhood? Our city?
I would like to suggest that sometimes painful circumstances in our lives are
needed in order for us to be pushed to display the fruits of the Spirit that God
has given us. Sometimes we really have to look at ourselves during those painful
times to see where we have taken our eyes off the Lord. Is it easy to look at
our failures? No. The Holy Spirit is also our Comforter during those times. Is
it easy to spray God's joy, peace, and gentleness to others? Not always.
Sometimes, pain is necessary for us to spray love onto others, for us to spray
patience to others, for us to spray goodness to others.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we come to You today, claiming Your Word as ours today. You
sent the Holy Spirit into our lives to be our Comforter. You have given us the
fruit of the Spirit. It is a fact. Yet so many times, we live our lives knowing
that in our heads, without really knowing that in our hearts. Help us not to
forget Your truths which we have considered today. Amen.
Judy Miller gjmiller@telusplanet.net
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
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