One of the things I learned about in Sunday school, all those years ago, was something called the “fruit of the Spirit”.\u00a0 The fruit of the Spirit is found in Galatians and is basically a litmus test for whether the Spirit is living and present in your life.\u00a0 It is an extensive list, and it was so thoroughly drilled into me, that I have no trouble remembering it (as long as I can say the list in order).<\/p>\n
One of the fruits of the Spirit is Peace.\u00a0 So we could choose to focus on it tonight.
\nOr is it really that simple?<\/p>\n
There is an interesting bit of grammatical trivia relating to the word fruit that I think can help us see more deeply into the what the fruit of the Spirit might really mean.<\/p>\n
When one uses “fruit<\/b>“, it means a single\u00a0fruit<\/b>\u00a0like mango, orange, and so on. But when we use “fruits<\/b>” it refers to different kinds of\u00a0fruit<\/b>; for example “there are\u00a0fruits\u00a0<\/b>in the basket” means that there is more than one type of\u00a0fruit<\/b>\u00a0in the basket.\u00a0Fruit<\/b>\u00a0is an uncountable noun, so it has no\u00a0plural<\/b>\u00a0form.\u00a0 \u00a0(Source here)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Bible says that the fruit\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>of the Spirit is…<\/p>\n
It doesn’t say the fruits of the spirit are.<\/p>\n
Each item on the list isn’t just one type of spiritual fruit, the equivalent of an apple for love, or a kiwi for joy.\u00a0 Each item in the list is one thing.\u00a0 It is fruit of the spirit.\u00a0 One thing.<\/p>\n
So, the fruit of the spirit isn’t just love, or just joy, or just peace, but love, joy, AND peace!<\/p>\n
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.\u00a0 All<\/em> of those things are the fruit<\/em> of the spirit.<\/p>\n
Peace could be summarized as the result of the work of love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.\u00a0 If I love someone, I will seek peace with them.\u00a0 Joy is only found in the presence of peace, Without patience, there is no peace.\u00a0 Without kindness, peace is meaningless.\u00a0 Without goodness, peace is irrelevant.\u00a0 Faithfulness is a foundation of peace.\u00a0 Without gentleness, peace can not exist.\u00a0 Without self-control, peace can not be maintained.<\/p>\n
In fact, if we look closely at the list, I think you’ll find that each concept listed, can be constructed using the other concepts listed.\u00a0 No single concept is complete without the support of each other concept.<\/p>\n
It’s pretty circular, but I think it works.<\/p>\n
So perhaps if you have been seeking peace, and unable to find it in your life, you should look to the other fruit in the basket.\u00a0 Seek peace in love.\u00a0 Seek peace through joy.\u00a0 Patiently allow peace to work in your life.\u00a0 Bring peace to another by an act of kindness.\u00a0 Peace can be found where goodness (fairness or justice) prevails.\u00a0 Faithfully pursue peace.\u00a0 Gently lead others down the path of peace.\u00a0 Keep the peace in your life by exercising self-control.<\/p>\n
To know peace more fully, seek love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.\u00a0 Against these things there is no law.<\/p>\n
It has come to my attention that my original post left out faithfulness.\u00a0 I apologize for my error, and have corrected the text to include it.\u00a0 A huge thank you to my darling fiance for pointing it out to me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\nBe sure to check out the other people on the journey with me at 254peace.org<\/a>, or on our Facebook page<\/a>.\u00a0 There are some awesome people participating this year, and they all have something important to say.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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