Tuesday, March 1

fruits: love

I would be willing to bet that a large majority of you have heard of the Fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 at one point in your life or another.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22

The Lord is using this passage in Galatians to stress the importance of demonstrating these qualities in our own lives, and to help us remember that each of the qualities only comes from Him, and through Him living in us. Well, it's no surprise that trying to keep up with all nine of these super important qualities every single day gets a little exhausting and is impossible without help from the Big Guy. And I'm embarrassed to admit it, but most days living the Fruits of the Spirit is not the number one thing going on in my planner. I was thinking about it today though, and if our day to day was focused on doing our best to live out these nine qualities--think about the difference it would make. Be selfish for a second and just think about the difference it would make in your life alone. I know that I would be happier, more content, more fulfilled, more peaceful.. a little more of everything. Now think about how others would feel. If you loved one person a little more each day, showed joy, patience kindness, forgiveness, faithfulness or gentleness to one more person each day. Think about the impact that would make in their life. So worth it. 

The point: In all honesty, I'm more likely to try harder if I document it for y'all to read. And maybe, I can inspire a few of you to join me? Feel free to comment or post your own if you'd like, and feel free to not do either--but I hope it at least gets you thinking.

So.. I'm starting with day one. First fruit. Telling you a little bit about what it means to me, how I encounter it throughout my day, how it makes the world go 'round. 

o h s t l i n . s e -

love. 

There's a reason that love is the first fruit of the Spirit listed. It's the basis for everything that we do. And for the rest of the fruits. Not necessarily love your siblings, love your parents, love your boyfriend type love... although that is good and important in our lives. But that's easy. What about loving those that are hard to love? Those we don't want to love? Those we don't expect to have to love? What about them? 

I work at a daycare and have twelve 3-year olds in my class. Some of them are really cute, really well-behaved, really clean, easy to deal with, easy to clean up after, and easy to love. These are the ones I want to pick up and hug and cuddle and assign to be the "line leader" every day. These are the ones I want to show favoritism to. These are the ones that I hope my own kids are like one day.  

Then we have the kids that aren't the easiest. The whiners, the continual potty-goers, the bed-wetters, the snack-spillers, the "I wanted milk, not water" kids. It's so easy to gravitate towards the easy kids. But who do you think probably needs to be shown love the most? Who needs positive attention and praise? {I'm not in these homes, and don't know these people personally. This is a VERY general statement. Not directed towards anyone in particular or the children in my class} It's harder to tell these kids to come get in my lap. Harder to chose them first. Harder to hug them, rub their head or push them on the swing instead of sitting on my butt during recess. But that's what God calls us to do. He calls us to get up off the bench, and show that kid love even when we don't want to. Even when we know they won't be able to keep swinging because they're three and can't do it alone. That's what they need. That's the type love we're talking about. 


Genuinely loving someone, because you know it's what is best for them. It may be inconvenient or uncomfortable. It may be hard and may come at a bad time for you. But it brings joy to another person. They feel the love of the Lord through you. That's love. 

Showing love to someone on the street. Showing love to someone in your class that just seems to be having a tough day. Showing love to a stranger for no reason at all. It's important. And it is living out the Lord's purpose for our lives. 

So go out and show love to someone--anyone--tomorrow. I bet it'll be worth it. 



love always, 
kels

2 comments:

Unknown said...

:) thank you so much Kels! That truly was so convicting and encouraging!

CALLIE said...

Love this!!! Just what I needed.