A Life Worthy

But the fruit of the Spirit is…  (Galatians 5:22).

There are places in the Bible where we believers are compared to strong trees or lush vines producing good fruit.

This is not one of those places.

Here, please note, the fruit is produced by the Spirit of God.

So where are we in this analogy?  Well, the Holy Spirit lives in us, and a tree lives in…

dirt.

Yes, Beloved, we are dirt.  I mean, you can go with rich, fertile soil or even jars of clay if it makes you feel better, but it’s all still dirt. We don’t produce the fruit or bear the fruit; we simply allow the Spirit to be planted in us.  We endure the rains because they allow the Spirit to sink his roots deep.

I could continue the analogy by talking about how some days fertilizer gets dumped on us, but I don’t want to put that picture in your head.

Oops…too late.

Well, let’s hope today is not a fertilizer day.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law (Galatians 5:18).

The Law doesn’t lead you.  It drags you.  It’s being chained by the hands to the rear bumper of a Buick.  As the car drives away you walk, then jog, then run, then race, trying desperately to keep from stumbling, because when you stumble you will fall, and then you will be dragged by chains of guilt through streets of shame.

How’s that for pushing a metaphor, huh!

By contrast, the Spirit leads you.  It’s your favorite person in all the world looking over his shoulder with a smile and a wink and saying, “Come with me.  This is gonna be amazing!”

Go with Spirit over Law, Beloved.  

Every time

Especially today

Happy Monday, Beloved.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16).

Remember the story about the Indian boy who dreamt that he had two wolves fighting inside him?  He went to his grandfather, who explained that the wolves represented good and evil.  The kid asked which wolf would win the fight, and the wise grandfather replied, “The one that you feed.”

You don’t remember that story?  Oh, well, it was a story.  Trust me.

Anyway, there’s truth there.  All day long today, you are going to make choices about how to spend your time.  No matter how busy you are with the stuff that has to be done, you will still have a few minutes here and there that are at your discretion.  How will you spend those moments?  

Will you take the chance to connect with God, or with social media?  

Will you soak in a moment of worship, or check out the latest hate rant about the election?  

You could fire off a quick prayer for those you love–or those you don’t love but are called to–or you could engage in that secret sin while the angels weep.

Not to get too heavy, but you know what I’m talking about.

Beloved, living by the Spirit is not performing some huge, momentous act that rocks the cosmos and brings thousands to their knees in a solemn prayer.

Although, if you can do that, please do…and tag me in the pictures.

Living by the Spirit is a thousand small choices that define you and your relationship with Jesus.  It’s the endless small sacrifices of time that demonstrate your priorities before God and Man and Self.

Caveat for my daughter and others who are getting twitchy–I’m not saying that you can never relax, or that you have to monitor and judge every moment of every day.  That way lies madness. I’m just saying that we make choices with our time, and we should choose the things that will bring us closer to God.

So, yes, Beloved, it’s OK to watch the kitten in a teacup video…just maybe not for the 1000th time.

I gotta go now. There’s this set of 800 Star Wars memes on Facebook that I have to get back to.

I’m a mess.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14).

As it happens, the entire verse from Leviticus Chapter 19 goes like this: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord.”

Weird how timely that old B-I-B-L-E can be, huh?

Real, honest love is completely unselfish and comes with no strings attached.  It wants what is best for the beloved, regardless of the cost to the one who loves. It “keeps no record of wrongs,” and it does not stop loving just because it has been hurt or disappointed.

That would be the way Jesus loves us.

That would be the love we are called to.

Can you imagine a world in which such love was the norm, rather that the extreme?

Neither can I.

But I wonder if, by the grace of God, we can take a step in that direction, even today.

Just one step.

By his grace; for his glory.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Thank you, Veteran.

Thank you for leaving your home behind in order to protect it.

Thank you for setting aside your freedoms to help safeguard mine.

Thank you for fighting for my right to protest, even when my protest saddens or angers or disgusts you.

Thank you for shouldering a rifle, or climbing into a chopper, or racing toward a bomb blast, knowing that today could be the day that you are called to give “the last full measure of devotion.”

You must be terrified.

You go anyway.

For me.

Thank you.