Galatians 5:22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Have you ever felt like your life was out of control? Like someone else was in control of your life?
Yesterday, I experienced a hospital shift change, and for as many times as I've been to hospitals early in the morning over the past 24 years, I'd never experienced a shift change. I'm sure that all the employees at that hospital are lovely people. But as I walked from the parking garage to the hospital with a couple hundred employees, I distinctly felt like I was in a scene of "The Walking Dead." No one was even talking to each other, let alone joyful and loving. There was no "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22, today's verses).
So, I did what I do, namely, I started looking at the employees and smiled and talked to them about God's promise to bless their day even though they were walking to work at 6:20 a.m. It didn't go over very well. But, quite frankly, though sad for all those employees, I was fine with their lack of response because, though all of them seemed to be marching in the direction of some alien force that controlled their life, I knew, by God's grace, who and what was in control of mine and even 200 zombies were not going to change that.
I'm not saying that I'm the perfect Christian, but what I am saying is that all too often we act like there's some alien force that's controlling our life. We act like our life is out of control or like someone else is controlling our life. But what God is telling us in today's Bible verses is that God is in control of our lives, even as, paradoxically, we're still free and in control when we're in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
It simply goes like this. Since Jesus loves me with an everlasting love and I surrender to that truth, I can have love and share it! Since Jesus loves me with an everlasting love and I surrender to that truth, I can have joy and share it! Since Jesus loves me with an everlasting love and I surrender to that truth, I can have peace and share it! Since Jesus loves me with an everlasting love and I surrender to that truth, I can have patience and share it! And so on with kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Nothing and nobody controls my life except the Living God through his everlasting love for me in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit!
So, let's be God's instruments to change the world today. As we walk into work or any other setting where we don't feel like going early in the morning or any hour, for that matter, remember who's in control. Your employer is not in control. Your government is not in control. Your feelings are not in control. Your life is not out of control.
Since Jesus loves us with an everlasting love and we surrender to that truth, i.e. we believe in God's love, we can have "the fruit of the Spirit [which] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23) and share it!
So have a great day and spread the love, people; spread the love.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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