At this week's connecT service we thought about the fruit of the Spirit -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5: 22-23) . We were asked to pick a few that we found easy and a few that we found a little harder. Most of us found love, peace and joy the fruit easier to pick but patience, faithfulness, self-control etc. a little harder.
Thinking about it bit more today I wonder whether we can really ever know love without patience or faithfulness, or peace with out self-control. Is Paul's list pick and choose or do we need them all to pass the test? Maybe, it not a test, at all, but an invitation to invite God's Spirit in to do the work. 'If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit' (Gal 5: 25).
Chris
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About Me
- Chris McLeod
- Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- I'm a 50 year old Anglican Priest who values family, friends, community and good food and wine; 60's & 70's 'guitar rock' and a bit of 'prog', theology, Australian Rules Football and exploring contemporary ways of being Church.
1 comment:
Some good ideas Chris. Like you I am not sure that the relative ease or difficulty of fruits need be oppositional. They enable each other to some extent. Love encourages our patience and kindness. Peace can be the product but also the catalyst for joy. Perhaps this is a spiritual fruit salad :)
All in some measure-and all complimenting each other.
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