Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Making a Garden Grow

"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).

I'm not sure if I'd like to have a green thumb or not, but I don't. My best claim to gardening is that my Dad planted a garden a few years when I was a kid and my grandfather made a living as a farmer. Based on that, I ought to know more than I know. I ought to be able to grow something. Maybe I can but I just haven't tried.

I do understand a biblical principle about the fruit of the Spirit. These are qualities - Christlike qualities - that grow in a Christian's life when he allows the Holy Spirit to tend to him. The Spirit plants, waters, weeds, prunes. And the Spirit harvests the fruit. That's how a Christian becomes more like Christ.

None of us are a Garden of Eden when it comes to the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, we're not perfect. But if you've been a Christian for very long at all, you ought to have more of these qualities than you've had before.

So how are you doing? Are you maturing? Is the fruit of the Spirit growing in you?

If it's hard to love somebody, then focus on Jesus and yield to the Spirit and you'll soon find that you can love them.

If you don't have joy and instead allow circumstances to drive your emotions, then focus on Jesus and yield to the Spirit and you'll soon find that you are joyful in spite of what's happening.

If your life is full of strife, then focus on Jesus and yield to the Spirit and you'll find the peace that now alludes you.

Do you see where I'm going with this? I believe that if we focus on Jesus and yield to the Spirit we'll become more like Jesus and our character will reflect his.

I'm so glad I don't have a charge to become more like Christ (which I do) but then have the sole responsibility to get there. What a wonderful act of grace and compassion for God to help me. Actually, he does it all when I yield to him. All I have to do is yield.

Yielding means that I give up my desires for that of another. When I drive up to an intersection and my traffic lane has a yield sign, I have to wait for other cars to go through the intersection before I proceed. This is the safest and best way for traffic to flow. I want to go first; I have some place I need to be. I want to take charge and do it my way. But I yield to oncoming traffic. I submit my will to a higher authority.

Yielding to the Holy Spirit is much the same. I may have my own ideas or plans but I put them aside because his are best. I may have my own desires but his are better so I yield to him. Phrases like "live by the Spirit" (Gal 5:16) and "led by the Spirit" (Gal 5:18) and "keep in step with the Spirit" (Gal 5:25) convey the idea of yielding to God's Spirit. When I do this I become more like Christ and I receive his blessings and I am useful in reaching others for Christ.

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