You’ve probably heard the old expression,
”
A tree is known by its fruit.
”
In the Bible, Christians are likened to fruit trees and we are
taught the kind of fruit we should be bearing:
”
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
”
(Galatians 5:22-23). In the coming weeks, we will look at what
God calls the
”
fruit of the Spirit,
”
noting those things God says come from a life that is going in
the right direction.
You’ve probably heard the old expression, “A tree is known by its fruit.” In the Bible, Christians are likened to fruit trees and we are taught the kind of fruit we should be bearing: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). In the coming weeks, we will look at what God calls the “fruit of the Spirit,” noting those things God says come from a life that is going in the right direction.
The first fruit mentioned is love and it is not coincidental it is mentioned first; it is not only the most important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, it is actually the source of all the other manifestations of God’s Spirit in your life. In fact, God says love should top our list of life goals: “Let love be your greatest aim…” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
But what is “love” anyway? It seems like everyone uses the word, but we use it in so many ways it can get confusing. For example, I love scuba diving; I love Cajun food; I love playing tennis; I love reading a good book; I love my wife… but I don’t love my wife and a good book in the same way. We use the word in all sorts of ways and if you ask someone what love is, you are likely to get radically different definitions.
Our culture usually defines love in one of two ways: One popular idea is that love is uncontrollable. How many times have you heard someone (or yourself) say, “I fell in love…” Men say, “I just couldn’t help myself, she had such a bod…” Women say, “Oh, what a manly man, I’m losing control…” And in conjunction with the depiction of love as uncontrollable comes the notion that love is nothing more than a feeling. As that famous social historian Tina Turner said in her No. 1 hit song, “What’s love but a second hand emotion?”
In contrast to the pundits of our culture, God says love is not uncontrollable and it is more than a feeling: Love is a choice. You choose to love; you choose not to love. The idea that love is uncontrollable is a myth. People say, “I just fell in love…” like it was a ditch or something! Then, a while later, you hear that same person say, “I just don’t love them anymore…” Why not? Because they chose not to. Colossians 3:14 says, “And over all virtues, put on love…” This passage describes putting on love like you would put on clothing.
When we allow love to guide us, things go well; when we choose something else to guide us, trouble ensues. 1 Corinthians 13 teaches us that refusing to live a life based in God’s love will lead to all sorts of problems, especially in the area of building quality relationships. We will sabotage our relationships from the first time we open our mouths! As Paul said, “Even if I speak eloquently with the voice of an angel, without love I am nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate” (v. 1).
Words without love are just noise. Perhaps you think, “We don’t communicate well in our home… He (she) just doesn’t hear what I’m trying to say.” Have you ever stopped to think that a large part of your communication problem might stem from not speaking in a loving manner to one another? People will usually respond positively to loving words, but will resent and reject unloving words.
1 Corinthians 13 goes on to mention four other pitfalls of living a life that does not have the love of God at its center. Take some time this week to read the “love chapter” (1 Corinthians 13). Think about what motivates the choices you make and then answer the question posed in that hit song, “What’s love got to do with it?” I hope you will find the answer to be, “Everything.”
