“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22-23 NASB
Have you ever had a suntan or seen someone with a good suntan? What are some the typical comments you hear? “Ooh, you got some sun.” “What did you do, fall asleep on the beach?” “Looks like someone had a good vacation.”
It’s very obvious that you or the others in your office really did spend a good week in the Bahamas, or at least somewhere with lots of sunlight. They can quickly see you didn’t go to Seattle (it rains all the time in Washington state, if you didn’t know). People look at you and they can quickly see a few things that say you went south for your vacation.
Can those same people look at you and honestly see God’s handprint and handiwork on you? Can you look at other people, maybe even people you’re not really close to, and pick out who’s a Christian and who’s probably not? Can people easily tell that you’re a Christian? They should be able to. There’s one man where I work who everyone knows is a Christian. People have called him “very religious”. They ride in his work van with him and talk to everyone else afterwards, “All he plays in the van is Christian radio.” “He’s weird. He’s talking about his God and his Bible reading all the time.” People can quickly tell he’s a Christian.
You might ask me, “Well, how can I make sure people know I’m a Christian?” “Walk by the spirit” – vs.16. Spend time in God’s word. Galatians 5 gives us a list of things we call the “fruit of the spirit”. This is what just comes to be a part of your life the more you spend time in God’s word. At the same time, if you neglect to spend time in God’s word, these things are going to be far less evident in your life, even to the point where no one can tell your life was once changed.
Spend enough time in God’s word, and everyone will see the fruits of that time.
They’ll see the love. The Greek word there is “agapē”. It’s the deepest, most selfless type of love in existence. Sadly, only Greek (that I know of) distinguishes between different kinds and levels of love.
They’ll see the joy. A strong sense of joy that no one can seem to take away, despite the circumstances. Happiness is very circumstancial. The joy of God is not.
They’ll see the peace. When your world is going to pot. When your life is falling apart. When nothing seems to be going right, and you still have that peace of God that defies all understanding. They’ll see it.
They’ll see the patience. “Why doesn’t anything get done on time? Why can’t these people do their jobs right?” It’s easy to get angry and frustrated in these situations. It’s much harder to keep your cool and not blow your temper.
They’ll see the kindness. When people mistreat you and talk bad about you or even to you, yet you still treat them with respect and kindness. People will notice.
They’ll see the goodness. “He’s got a very giving nature. She’s always ready to help with anything going on.”
They’ll see the faithfulness. You come in to work half an hour early everyday. You go to church every Sunday, and that’s a part of your answer every time someone asks about your weekend.
They’ll see the gentleness. Someone had a mental breakdown and she sat with her, talked to her, calmed her down, and brought her back to a calm spirit. They’ll see your gentleness.
They’ll see your self-control. “Dude, I would’ve blown my top in his face, but not Danny. I could see he kind of wanted to, he clenched his fists, but he never swung that punch, never cussed or called him a bad name. He controlled himself.”
These aren’t the only circumstances where these traits are going to be visible, not an exhaustive list, but you get the picture.
Just quickly, look back at verses 19-21. There you see everything we’ll become if we don’t walk in the spirit and instead live for the flesh. “… immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery( literally witchcraft), enmities(unpleasant disagreements), strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions(divisions), factions(cliques), envying, drunkenness, carousing(provoking people, causing riots), and things like these…”
And then notice the warning that comes directly after “…, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Repentance and a full turn away from your sin is a major part of salvation, but that’s a thought for another time.
Today, I just want to ask you, how dark and obvious is your suntan? How obvious is it to the people around you that you are a Christian?
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