At the Water's Edge

Showing posts with label Fruit of the Spirit. Show all posts

Our bible study group has decided to take some time to look at the so-called “fruit of the spirit” as listed in the book of Galatians – and to study each one of these fruits, evaluating the prevalence of each in our own lives. I hope to be able to share parts of my study and reflections here, as we go through each of the topics.

This week we’re looking at the word “gentleness”. The meaning here extends beyond that of common use to a sort of gentleness of spirit:

“it consists not in a person's "outward behaviour only; nor yet in his relations to his fellow-men; as little in his mere natural disposition. Rather it is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; it is closely linked with the word tapeinophrosune [humility]…” --Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Gentleness is one of the characteristics of God, which I think is beautifully displayed in this passage from 1 Kings. A little background: in this passage, the prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life. He goes to Horeb, the “mountain of God” and God says this to him:

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. –1 Kings 19:11-13

Notice the mighty wind and earthquake and fire – all signs of power that we would expect to be associated with God. But here, they are not. God was not in wind, the earthquake or the fire. But after these things had passed, God came in the form of a gentle whisper. God goes on to give instructions to Elijah and I think helps calm his fears. Certainly God is strong and powerful, but there also remains in Him a spirit of gentleness, and sometimes it is out of that gentleness that he whispers into our lives.

Jesus is also described as gentle. It was prophesied about him:

See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. –Zechariah 9:9

Jesus also says this of himself:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. –Matthew 11:29

You can see from that verse how gentleness and humility go hand in hand. It’s a condition of the spirit that will show through as “fruit”. Jesus invites us to join Him in this gentleness of the soul.

Christians are exhorted to show gentleness to others and have a gentleness of spirit that is like God’s. Philippians 4:5 tells us to let our “gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

Gentleness goes along with the other fruits of the spirit in the way we live our lives and treat others, as demonstrated in this verse:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. –Ephesians 4:1-3

Again, gentleness goes hand in hand with humility here, and it is also paired with the fruits of patience, love and peace.

We are called to have a heart of gentleness also towards ALL, including those whose viewpoint may differ from our own:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. –1 Peter 3:15-16

Treating others with gentleness and respect can have a great positive impact on our relationships and leave others more open to hearing about our faith, but spiteful or callous responses have the capacity to destroy. Just as Proverbs 15:1 says: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

We examined the following verse in our study on patience, but it applies here, too:

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. –Proverbs 25:15

As seen from the passage above from 1 Kings, sometimes gentleness can be more powerful that forcefulness. When we have a heart of gentleness we have a heart that reflects Christ and a spirit that is inviting to others. God works through this spirit of gentleness to bring forth “fruit”. My challenge this week is to think about my responses to people and situations, and to try to step back and respond to whatever life may throw at me with gentleness rather than with careless or harsh words.

Next up in my Fruit of the Spirit study is faithfulness. The word “faithfulness” that is used here is translated from the Greek word, pistis, which means “trust-worthiness” according to Vine’s Dictionary. In Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary, he defines faith[fulness] here as “fidelity, justice, and honesty, in what we profess and promise to others.” We must remain true to the faith if we are to live a Spirit-filled life. I believe that means practicing what you preach and living a life that is generally consistent with the way of life Jesus teaches. We must keep our hope and trust in Jesus consistently. In personal interactions it means being true to others, following through with our word and acting with integrity. God has entrusted us with the great responsibility of acting as his ambassadors to the rest of the world by glorifying him with the way we live our lives. We are faithful if we carry out the responsibilities entrusted to us by God.

When thinking about what it meant to be faithful, I was reminded of the Parable of the Talents that Jesus told to his disciples. Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven in this way:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.”

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” -- Matthew 25:14-29

This parable depicts the gifts or “talents” that God gives to us and the choices we have in what to do with those gifts. If we are faithful in using them for God’s purposes, he will entrust us with even more. If we bury our gifts and don’t use what God has given us for his glory, we are being unfaithful servants of our God. The life filled by the Spirit should show the fruits of faithfulness portrayed by using our time, money and talents wisely and in ways that are pleasing to God.

As relates to other people, I think the fruit of faithfulness can be seen in several ways. Firstly, part of being faithful to God means loving other people and being true to the way of life he has called us to live: to honor others above ourselves (Romans 12:10) and to treat others the way we wanted to be treated (Matthew 7:12)—remember the “Golden Rule”? According to Jesus, this “sums up the Law and the Prophets”--or what we know as the Old Testament of the Bible.

I think being faithful to others also means living up to your word and following through on commitments. It shows integrity and character when we are honest and true with others and it demonstrates our faithfulness. Remember the old adage: actions speak louder than words? Well, it’s true. And when we show others our faith and faithfulness by what we do, it is a much stronger testimony to the Truth than simply our words. As the book of Proverbs puts it:

“Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but a faithful man who can find?” – Proverbs 20:6

Matthew Henry notes the following in his commentary on this proverb:

1. It is easy to find those that will pretend to be kind and liberal. Many a man will call himself a man of mercy, will boast what good he has done and what good he designs to do, or, at least, what an affection he has to well-doing. Most men will talk a great deal of their charity, generosity, hospitality, and piety, will sound a trumpet to themselves, as the Pharisees, and what little goodness they have will proclaim it and make a mighty matter of it.

2. But it is hard to find those that really are kind and liberal, that have done and will do more than either they speak of or care to hear spoken of, that will be true friends in a strait; such a one as one may trust to is like a black swan.

Many will claim to have faith, but faithfulness is proved by actions, as life in the Spirit is known by its fruit. My challenge this week is to really think about the choices I make moment to moment and to try to choose the things that align with God’s way of life, that others may see something different in me and know that I am faithful to what I profess. Though we will fail, because we are not perfect, we must continue to get back up and endeavor to be a true friend to others and a true servant to Christ in what we do, as the Spirit enables us, that one day we may hear the words spoken to us: “well done, good and faithful servant!"

**note: I found my sources for information on the Greek text from The Blue Letter Bible - there are some great resources on that website! Check it out! You can also read Matthew Henry's entire bible commentary here.

Coming into this week’s study, we immediately knew we were going to have trouble with the word “kindness”. While the version of the Bible that I typically use translates this word as “kindness” the King James Version renders it “gentleness” – something that’s later down in my version (which KJV renders “meekness”). There’s also the trouble that the next word on my list is “goodness”. What differentiates kindness from goodness? I decided this week’s study must begin with a word study, going back to the Greek.

The Greek word used here for kindness is χρηστότης – transliterated: chrēstotēs. According to Strong’s concordance, this word is used in the Bible to mean:

1) moral goodness, integrity

2) benignity, kindness

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines it this way:

Good, Goodly, Goodness:

(a) in the sense of what is upright, righteous, Rom 3:12 (translated "good");

(b) in the sense of kindness of heart or act, said of God… It signifies "not merely goodness as a quality, rather it is goodness in action, goodness expressing itself in deeds; yet not goodness expressing itself in indignation against sin… but in grace and tenderness and compassion." *
[* From Notes on Galatians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 292.]

From this, I will form my own definition of what is translated in the NIV as “kindness” in Galatians 5:22. I will say that kindness here means good deeds done in humility.

So, to have kindness as a fruit of the Spirit means taking action and loving others enough to say and do good things. I think about this as going out of your way to do something nice for somebody else. Romans 12:10 tell us to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” If we truly do that we are sure to be living a life of “kindness”.

The book of James talks about the importance of “good deeds” in the Christian life. It is by showing kindness and doing good that we prove our faith to be genuine:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. -–James 2:14-26

C.S. Lewis also has some insights on the kindness of Christians and how that should look, particularly in comparison to the rest of the world:

I think this is the right moment to consider a question which is often asked: If Christianity is true why are not all Christians obviously nicer than all non-Christians?...If conversion to Christianity makes no improvement in a man’s outward actions—if he continues to be just as snobbish or spiteful or envious or ambitious as he was before—then I think we must suspect that his ‘conversion’ was largely imaginary…Fine feelings, new insights, greater interest in ‘religion’ mean nothing unless they make our actual behaviour better…In that sense, the outer world is quite right to judge Christianity by its results. Christ told us to judge by results. A tree is known by its fruit…

But there is another way of demanding results in which the outer world may be quite illogical. They may demand not merely that each man’s life should improve if he becomes a Christian: they may also demand before they believe in Christianity that they should see the whole world neatly divided into two camps—Christian and non-Christian—and that all the people in the first camp at any given moment should be obviously nicer than all the people in the second…

But, he goes on to say 1) that the world is not so neatly divided, and 2) that people have different dispositions, and we all have different internal battles that we fight, which may make certain non-Christians to be “nicer” people than certain Christians. However what we can expect from the Christian is this:

If Christianity is true then it ought to follow (a) That any Christian will be nicer than the same person would be if he were not a Christian. (b) That any man who becomes a Christian will be nicer than he was before.

So, Christianity, and living a life by the Spirit, does not make you a “better” (by earthly standards) or nicer or kinder person than every non-Christian; it simply means that God is making you into a better version of yourself.

From here, I’d like to jump right into the next word in the list of “fruits” which is “goodness”. I think that kindness and goodness do go hand in hand, though they have their subtle differences differences. Again, let’s turn first to the Greek.

The Greek used in this verse is agathōsynē. Strong’s concordance lists the Biblical usage of this word as:

1) uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness

Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words explains the meaning of this word, and I think also gives a good explanation of the difference between agathosyne (goodness) and chrestotes (kindness):

Good, Goodly, Goodness:

"goodness," signifies that moral quality which is described by the adjective agathos. It is used, in the NT, of regenerate persons, Rom 15:14; Gal 5:22; Eph 5:9; 2Th 1:11

Trench, following Jerome, distinguishes between chrestotes and agathosune in that the former describes the kindlier aspects of "goodness," the latter includes also the sterner qualities by which doing "good" to others is not necessarily by gentle means. He illustrates the latter by the act of Christ in cleansing the temple, Mat 21:12, 13, and in denouncing the scribes and Pharisees, 23:13-29; but chrestotes by His dealings with the penitent woman, Luk 7:37-50. Lightfoot regards chrestotes as a kindly disposition towards others; agathosune as a kindly activity on their behalf.

J. A. Robertson (on Eph 5:9) remarks that agathosune is "the kindlier, as dikaiosune (righteousness) the sterner, element in the ideal character."

Richard C. Trench also comments on the word “goodness” or agathosune, giving us the following insight:

Ἀγαθωσύνη [agathosyne] is one of many words with which revealed religion has enriched the later language of Greece. It occurs nowhere else but in the Greek translations of the O. T. (2 Chron. 24:16; Nehem. 9:25; Eccles. 9:18), in the N. T., and in writings directly dependent upon these.

The fact this word is found exclusively in Biblical texts indicates that there is something unique about it – another existing word would not quite have done to convey the proper meaning. It also makes it more difficult to define. From the above information, I am going to consider “goodness” in this verse to mean doing the right thing. It seems that it is not as “gentle” as “kindness” and is more than simply doing something nice for others. It is broader and involves acting for the good of others and for the cause of Jesus.

So how can we have “goodness” in our lives?

I think of the following verse:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. -- Romans 12:2

If we allow God’s Spirit to rule our lives, if we make up our minds to not focus on the things of this world but to focus on the things of God, we will be transformed and will be able to know God’s will and choose to do what is right. “Goodness” is a natural outcome of living your life in line with God’s will. Reading through God’s word will also teach you how to live rightly, and we always have Jesus’ example to look to for how we ought to live our lives and what “goodness” looks like.

So, I charge you with this:

Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good – Romans 12:21

**note: I found my sources for information on the Greek text from The Blue Letter Bible - there are some great resources on that website! Check it out!

This week, we are looking at what it means to practice patience in one's life.

Patience is a virtue. Or so they say. What does that mean? It means that patience is recognized as a desirable quality and that it is an indicator of good moral character. How much more so, then, in the life of the Christian? The book of Proverbs explains some of the reasons why patience is thus regarded:

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. –Proverbs 14:29

Patience and gentle talk can convince a ruler and overcome any problem. –Proverbs 25:15

A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense. –Proverbs 19:11

The patient man is a wise man. Patience allows you the time to think through situations so that you can offer a better response.

Let’s take a deeper look at what it means to be patient. The word translated as “patience” in Galatians 5:22 is the Greek word makrothymia, which is used to mean:

1) patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance

2) patience, forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs

Some English versions of the Bible translate this word as “longsuffering” – which is not a very common word in modern vernacular. However, I think it provides some insights into what is meant here by “patience.” It is true that we are called to practice patience on the short-term, in our daily interactions with people and situations; but more than this, we are called to remain patient through life’s longer trials.

In our day to day interactions we are sure to have our patience tried. In our society, it doesn’t seem to take much: a traffic jam, a long line at the grocery store, noisy neighbors. It can be easy to let the little things get to you and you soon find yourself irritated, in a bad mood, complaining or saying something impolite. Contrast that with Ephesians 4:2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Patience involves bearing life’s inconveniences, loving others enough to not be snippy or rude, and to forgive their offenses. As Matthew Henry points out in his commentary on this passage, patience begins with humility and leads to unity:

“Long-suffering implies a patient bearing of injuries, without seeking revenge. Forbearing one another in love signifies bearing their infirmities out of a principle of love, and so as not to cease to love them on the account of these. The best Christians have need to bear one with another, and to make the best one of another, to provoke one another's graces and not their passions. We find much in ourselves which it is hard to forgive ourselves; and therefore we must not think it much if we find that in others which we think hard to forgive them, and yet we must forgive them as we forgive ourselves. Now without these things unity cannot be preserved. The first step towards unity is humility; without this there will be no meekness, no patience, or forbearance; and without these no unity.” – Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary

This kind of testing of one’s patience reminded me of a little experiment I did once. I was reading through the book The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg. He has a chapter that talks about slowing down your life and getting rid of that constant busyness. He challenges his readers to put themselves in situations where they are forced to slow down (e.g. drive in the slow lane; pick the longest check out lane at the store, etc.). In thinking about slowing down my life, practicing patience, and finding joy in each moment, I decided to try this one night. I was driving home going down a road that had a 45mph speed limit. The car in front of me was barely going 35. I decided I would not pass this car, but would slow down and stay behind it and practice the virtue of patience. It did not take long before I got quite annoyed. I got up close to the car, and was tempted to give up and go around it when I noticed the license plate. It read: JOYOUS. I laughed out loud – joy and patience were the very lessons I was trying to learn, and was failing at! Sometimes I’m convinced God has a good sense of humor.

I think it’s important to work on patience in the small things throughout our daily lives so that we can then extend that to be “long-suffering” throughout extensive, harder challenges in our lives. Paul tells us to “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12).”

Just a few chapters before this, Paul indicates that our ability to be patient through times of suffering comes from the hope we have as Christians:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” –Romans 8:18-25

James also talks about patience until the Lord’s coming. It is our hope in Jesus and our hope in the resurrection that keeps us going:

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” –James 5:7-11

I love Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage---he starts a few verses back, but I think he does an excellent job summarizing the breadth of what is meant by patience and long-suffering, and I believe that this is what we are to strive for as a “fruit of the Spirit”:

"…bear your afflictions without murmuring, your injuries without revenge; and, though God should not in any signal manner appear for you immediately, wait for him…Let your patience be lengthened out to long suffering;" so the word here used, makrothymesate, signifies. When we have done our work, we have need of patience to stay for our reward. This Christian patience is not a mere yielding to necessity, as the moral patience taught by some philosophers was, but it is a humble acquiescence in the wisdom and will of God, with an eye to a future glorious recompense: Be patient to the coming of the Lord. And because this is a lesson Christians must learn, though ever so hard or difficult…it is repeated in v. 8, Be you also patient.” – Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary

This time we are looking at the concept of peace.

Peace is called a “fruit of the Spirit” – meaning that somebody who is living a life God’s way, by his Spirit, should have a life characterized by peace. You should be able to sense and feel peace in the life of the Christian. There are a lot of different ways I could look at the concept of peace, but I want to look at a two-fold idea that I think encompasses peace as a fruit of the Spirit.

Firstly, though, let me touch briefly on the idea of our peace with God. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). We have all done something wrong or failed to do something right. If you’re anything like me, it happens a lot. Because “the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)” – God intervened and sent his Son to die the death that we deserved so that we could instead have the life that we do not deserve. The prophet Isaiah spoke about this before it even happened, saying:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5

Paul also speaks of our reconciliation to God and the peace which Christ brought:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. – Romans 5:1-2

So firstly, we must have peace with God, by accepting the sacrificial death of Jesus as atonement for our sins. Secondly, I think part of continuing in sanctification and growing in our relationship with God includes living a life that reflects who God wants us to be – as exemplified in Jesus, and also as expressed in Galatians as the so-called “fruit of the Spirit.” So how can we live a life of peace? What does it mean to have peace in our lives?

I think there are two main areas in our lives where we can show that we have peace, and I will call them “peace without” and “peace within”.

Peace Without

What I mean by “peace without” is essentially peace with others. Peaceable interactions with other people and relationships that are not tainted with anger, resentment or hostility. The bible is clear that keeping the peace in our relationships is essential and should be one of our top priorities. When Jesus was giving his famed “Sermon on the Mount” he talked about the importance of keeping the peace in this way:

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:23-24

Offering gifts on the altar of the temple was the way that people made peace with God before Jesus’ death. But here, Jesus tells us that before we can be right with God, we need to be reconciled to one another. Go, and make peace with your brother. Then you can truly have peace with God.

To me, one of the most striking verses in the Bible about peace is the following:

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. -- Psalm 34:14

I think the reason I find this so profound is that I tend to think of peace as something passive. I’m naturally inclined to avoid conflict. But I deceive myself if I think that sitting back, being passive, nigh complacent, is what God meant by living a life of peace. To seek and pursue peace implies action. What does it look like to actively seek out and pursue peace in your life? I think it means that we are to look for ways to restore relationships and bring reconciliation. We are commanded, as Christians, to put forth effort to keep the peace and quell hostility. Paul says this in both his letter to the church in Rome and the church in Ephesus:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. -- Romans 12:18

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. -- Ephesians 4:3

There may be some things beyond our control, but we are to do everything in our power to make and keep the peace – I think, particularly among the Christian community. How can we have peaceable relationships with the world if we can’t even do it amongst ourselves?

Paul also warns the young pastor, Timothy, and urges him to pursue peace and to avoid foolish quarrels:

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. --2 Timothy 2:22-23

When we pursue peace, I believe others can recognize that as a “fruit of the Spirit” – or as something in ourselves that is different from other people. Peaceable people can create an environment of peace around them. Consider this proverb:

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. -- Proverbs 16:7

Jesus also encouraged the pursuit of peace in his “Beatitudes,” saying:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. -- Matthew 5:9

Peace within

It’s obvious that we are called to live peaceably with others. However, I think there’s another kind of peace that should reign in the life of the Christian, and that I will call “peace within.” What I mean by this is a sense of calmness within your spirit; contentment; the absence of worry or anxiety.

Jesus encourages his disciples to have peace, even though things may not always being going well. Just like joy, we can pursue peace within our own hearts despite our circumstances. Jesus heartens us with these words:

Peace is what I leave with you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid. -- John 14:27

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. --John 16:33

So what do you do when life has you worried and anxious? How do you go about pursuing that internal sense of peace? Paul gives us a great answer in his letter to the Philippians:

Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus --Philippians 4:6-7

I think when we remember that God is sovereign, that He is “over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:6),” we can set our hearts at ease knowing that he will take care of our needs – all we need to do is ask him.

Paul also encourages the church at Colossae similarly, saying:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. -- Colossians 3:15

Furthermore, in Peter’s first letter, he tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).” We have no need to live in worry or fear, because we know that God is with us. Jesus himself says it this way:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. –Matthew 6:25-34

When we trust in God to provide for us, instead of turning to useless worry, we can begin to be at peace. The prophet Isaiah says:

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you --Isaiah 26:3

As always, God is the source of our “fruit” and He will grant peace to those who seek it. True peace comes from God alone. This much I know:

When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace; you alone, O Lord, keep me perfectly safe. –Psalm 4:8

We often confuse joy with happiness. I think it may be better equated with contentedness and a deeper satisfaction of the soul. Happiness depends on circumstance; joy does not. Happiness is a feeling that is in many ways beyond your control. You can’t be happy about everything, but you can have joy in all things. Joy is more than a feeling. Joy is a response. Joy is a state of being.

It’s fairly easy to be joyful when things are going well. When you have a lot to be thankful for, you can dwell on those things and get a sense of joy from that. The psalmist says, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalms 118:24).” When I’m having a great day and things seem to be going my way, I can read that verse and easily come up with reasons to be joyful. But what about when things are not going so well?

1 Thessalonians 5:16 urges us to “Be joyful always.” Certainly that is not possible if joy depends on circumstance. Instead, we are told to “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:18).”

Let’s look for a moment at the example of Job. Job was a man who had everything—and then had everything taken away from him. In one day Job had all of his livestock and animals taken from him, and his children all died. Do you know what his response was?

…he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” -- Job 1:20-21

That is joy in the midst of adversity, and that is what we are called to. James tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (James 1:2-3).”

Just like love, joy is a choice. We cannot control all of the situations in our lives, but we can control our responses to them. When faced with troubles and trials we can choose to be angry, we can choose to worry, we can choose to be pessimistic, or we can choose joy. Our pastor did a sermon on this a while back and encouraged the congregation to “choose joy” – no matter what life throws at you. He calls this a “uniquely Christian” response to life’s troubles. Being one of the “fruits of the Spirit,” joy is something that should characterize the life of a Christian, and it should be something that sets Christians apart from the rest of the world. When you choose joy, it doesn’t mean things are easy. It doesn’t mean everything’s grand. It means that you know there is more to life that the things you are going through right now, and there is opportunity in every situation. Our pastor gave three common examples in life where people find joy in the midst of unpleasant circumstances:

The gardener who labors and toils for hours in the dirt and hot sun, who gets blisters on his hands and sunburn on his skin – yet he still finds joy knowing that his work will produce fruit and vegetables and flowers, which makes all the effort worthwhile.

The runner who struggles to finish a run along the trail, who comes home completely beat and exhausted – yet she finds joy in knowing how far she has come in her fitness level and what great things her exercise is doing for her health.

The mother in labor – who goes through so much pain and effort, willingly, because she knows that when it’s over, she will have a beautiful baby to hold.

We can all see that there are reasons to find joy in those struggles. Something good comes out of it. So what about our day to day struggles from whence we think no good could ever possibly come? How can we find joy there? If you go back up to that verse from James, you’ll find the answer: “because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (James 1:3).” And the apostle Paul adds, “…we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).” The trick, as my pastor says, is to not let your suffering go wasted. God can work something good out of our bad circumstances if we let him, and we may end up better people simply by choosing joy in the face of hardship.

The apostle Paul is a great example of someone who chose joy, despite the many hardships he faced. He tells us that he has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12).” I believe this “secret” lies in trusting that God is in control, and even when things around us are chaotic, we know that God can and will work something good out of it. The Bible tells us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).” And in this we can rejoice.

Of course, I cannot discuss the topic of joy without bringing in my favorite author, C.S. Lewis. One of Lewis’ works that is perhaps lesser known is his space trilogy. Yes, C.S. Lewis wrote a space trilogy – and if you’ve ever read anything else by him, his version of sci-fi is much like you’d imagine it, and not much like anything else I’ve ever heard of. The second book of his space trilogy is called Perelandra. The premise of the book is that a man from earth finds himself on a different planet – an “unfallen” world – a world without sin, where the only intelligent creatures on that planet are that world’s version of “Adam and Eve”. The main character in the story interacts with the female on the planet, and they have some very interesting conversations, based on his point of view, coming from a fallen, broken world; and her point of view, coming from a soul of complete innocence. At one point, the man tries to explain to the Lady that not all events that happen on Earth are pleasant or welcome. She was confounded at first, not having experienced anything as “unpleasant” or “disappointing”. Finally, she was able to come to this understanding:

“What you have made me see,” answered the Lady, “is as plain as the sky, but I never saw it before. Yet it has happened every day. One goes into the forest to pick food and already the thought of one fruit rather than another has grown up in one’s mind. Then, it may be, one finds a different fruit and not the fruit one thought of. One joy was expected and another is given. But this I had never noticed before—that the very moment of the finding there is in the mind a kind of thrusting back, or setting aside. The picture of the fruit you have not found is still, for a moment, before you. And if you wished—if it were possible to wish—you could keep it there. You could send your soul after the good you had expected, instead of turning to the good you had got. You could refuse the real good; you could make the real fruit taste insipid by thinking of the other.”

– C.S. Lewis, Perelandra

What truth the Lady speaks! How often does our own discontentedness come from that longing of the soul after something which we wanted and yet were not given? Instead of focusing on the good in what we have, we cling to what might have been. And where does that get us? Nowhere good; nowhere we ought to be. It leads us down the road of bitterness and resentment rather than thanksgiving and joy. We ruin the chance of enjoying what we have when we keep our focus on that which we have not, and it becomes a poison to the soul.

Later on in the story, the Lady makes another profound statement:

“Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all.”

– C.S. Lewis, Perelandra

What if we lived our lives truly believing that? What a difference that would make in our outlook on all of life’s circumstances! Instead of dwelling on what could have been, recognize what you have in front of you as the best you could ask for, and as God’s will for your life in this particular moment. All you can do is take what you are given and recognize whatever situation you’re in as an opportunity – an opportunity to learn, to grow and to choose JOY!

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Our bible study group has decided to take some time to look at the so-called “fruit of the spirit” as listed in the book of Galatians – and to study each one of these fruits, evaluating the prevalence of each in our own lives. I hope to be able to share parts of my study and reflections here, as we go through each of the topics.

This week, we are looking at the concept of JOY – what it means and how we can live a life characterized by joy.

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