Think for a moment about the qualities you look for in others. If you have young children, how do you want them to act when they grow up? If you are married, how do you wish your husband treated you? How do you try to live your life?

What’s on your list? When we wrote this list in Bible Study, it included patient, kind, loving, faithful, understanding, supportive, even clean!

Now read Galatians 5:22-26.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26

Did you notice how similar our list is to God’s list? Isn’t it amazing that we humans, as sinful as we are, desire what comes from God? Think of how wonderful our families, and our world, would be if everyone practiced love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

To understand the importance of this list, which we call the “fruits of the spirit,” we need to understand what was going on when they were written down. Galatians was written by Paul. If you are not familiar with Paul’s story, let me encourage you to read Acts 9. Basically, Paul was a very important Jew whose job was to enforce the Jewish law. He met God and was converted to Christianity. He then went on to become one of the first missionaries, travelling the world to establish and encourage new churches. Much of the New Testament is letters that Paul wrote to these new churches.

Galations was a letter he wrote to the church in Galatia, a church that was struggling with legalism (the judging of one’s salvation based on good works). These were Christians who were turning back to Jewish law. These believers were Jews who had accepted that Christ was the Messiah. But when Gentiles started joining the church, they struggled with how to accept them and taught that in addition to believing in Christ, they had to submit to Jewish law. This letter to the Galatians has been described as the “charter of Christian freedom.”[1] Throughout it, you will find Paul describing how to live by the spirit of Christ.

To understand this concept, we must contrast the spirit of Christ with the works of the flesh. In Galations 5:19-21 Paul describes the works of the flesh.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

That’s quite a list isn’t it? The works of the flesh run the gambit from anger to jealousy all the way up to orgies! One of our ladies had a Bible translation that said “wild parties.” It strikes me that there seems to be no order to the sins listed. My organized brain would much rather they be listed in order of increasing “badness.” But that’s the point. Sin is sin. Your sin isn’t worse than mine and mine isn’t worse than yours. It’s like being a “little bit pregnant.” Because of this, the law has been replaced by grace and we are much better off leaving the judging to Christ.

Your may be saying to yourself, “Did she just call me a sinner?” I sure did. And guess what, I am too. We all are, because sin is so much fun and it’s so easy! It is much easier for me to be jealous of a friend who just purchased a shiny, red Corvette convertible than to be happy for her. It’s much easier to lose my temper and yell when a kid isn’t listening to me than to patiently discipline them.

The central theme of this passage is that with help from God, we can overcome these desires of the flesh. But it is interesting that he calls the good list “fruit.” Let’s think about fruit for a minute.[2]

Fruit is so good for you but how many times do you buy it with the best of intentions and then throw it away when it goes bad? Fruit is also fragile—you have to take care of it. A personal pet peeve of mine is baggers who throw my bananas around. Fruit can be difficult to grow—it requires tending. Every year I plant a whole row of tomatoes and every year I buy tomatoes from a neighbor.

But fruit reproduces itself and it is nourishing. It is full of HDL, the good cholesterol and full of vitamins that we need. If we eat enough fresh fruit, we can counteract the bad things (like chocolate) that we eat. So in essence, the fruit of the spirit can scrub us clean of the chocolate desires of the flesh.

But, just like a diet isn’t easy to follow, it’s not always easy to show the fruits of the spirit. In Galatians 5:24, Paul says that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature.” We can picture ourselves nailing those desires to the cross. I have been known to walk by a sweet treat and say mean things to it. I’m not going to eat you today so you just get over it you stupid piece of chocolate! Crucifixion is painful, but it is decisive.[3]

We should strive for the fruits of the spirit (like you are supposed to strive to eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day). If we work on obtaining the fruits, the desires will naturally go away. Like if you fill up with apples, you won’t have room for chocolate. For example, if you work towards patience, gentleness, and self-control you will be better able to control your temper. If you strive towards self-control and healthy joy and peace, you will be less likely to drink too much.[4] In our story last week, if Rachel had worked towards patience, she would have been better able to accept God’s timing instead of using local customs (and her maidservant) to have a child.

But let’s get real for a moment. I could eat a whole bag of apples, but I would still have room for at least one Reese Cup. When you are in the midst of real life, it can be difficult to strive for the fruits of the spirit. For example, many Moms tell me that they feel overwhelmed by trying to be Mom, be wife and still have time for themselves. When we feel overwhelmed is exactly when we should stop and spend time in the Word and in prayer. At the very least, I repeat “Love is patient, love is kind” over and over in my head until the moment passes. The dishes can wait! But don’t let your fruit spoil uneaten.

In last week’s lesson, we said that if you are looking to others for joy and contentment, you will be disappointed. True joy and contentment comes from following the Lord. Jesus tells us this in John 15:9-11.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15: 9-11

The joy comes from knowing that God has forgiven us. Have you ever been pulled over on the road but given a warning, not a ticket? Well I have once, okay maybe twice. And let me tell you there is complete joy in that warning! The joy of forgiveness is like that. It means that even if you give into temptation (because let’s face it, it’s everywhere) you can run back to the love of Christ and be forgiven. My kids go through stages where they spend allot of time in time-out. But what do I do when it’s over? I run to them and wrap them up in my arms. Our heavenly Father is the same way.

Too often as women we are looking for the next big thing. When he starts sleeping through the night… When she starts school…When I get married…When we get that bill paid off… When I get the basement cleaned out… And we focus on what we think other women have that we don’t. (Notice I said think) This drags us down. The secret to being happy is to be content with what we have. Paul reminds us of this in Philippians 4:11-13, a familiar passage.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

Our Wednesday night group is inter-generational. This is such a blessing. We had a lively discussion on how contentment is different for the different generations, and I’ll admit that I have never truly been in need. The other day when something didn’t go exactly as I wanted it, I did have a moment where I stopped and thought “you are such a child of the 80s!” My peer group has been truly blessed and we have much to learn from our parents and our grandparents. Many of us are learning how to do more with less for the first time in our lives right now. And it’s gotten many of us down.

The key to being content with our current situation and to continue striving for those fruits is to remember that Christ is there to strengthen us. [5] He never intended us to do it alone! So instead of being Superwoman, don’t be afraid to ask for help, from your spouse, from your kids, from a parent, from your neighbor, from a friend, but especially from God.

Also remember, if you plant an apple seed today, you won’t be making apple pie tomorrow. The fruits of the spirit are the same way. We will constantly be tempted. It is a daily struggle to crucify the desires of the flesh. Don’t be dismayed if you fail today, but pick up and try again tomorrow.

And an apple tree will likely not grow just on its own. It needs someone to water it, fertilize it, keep the deer from eating it, etc. Same with the fruits of the spirit. Rely on each other and rely on Christ to grow them. Christ told us in John 15: 1-2 that if we remain in him, we will bear fruit. Sometimes, He may painfully correct us or shape us, but the end result will be beautiful.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15: 1-2

My challenge this week is good for your body and your soul. Eat a piece of fruit every day. While you are eating it, take the time to taste it and to meditate on the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. See if you can recite them from memory by this time next week.

We will be taking a 3 week break from the Bible study. Next Thursday, April 1st, Big Island Baptist will observe Maundy Thursday with a communion service. The week after Easter I will be out of town and on Wednesday, April 14th, Big Island Baptist will hold a quarterly business meeting. Our study will resume on April 21st with “The other Salome.” Our jumping off scriptures are Matthew 20: 20-24, Matthew 27: 55-56 and Mark 16: 1-8. I hope you can join us in person or in cyberspace!

[1] NIV Life Application Study Bible

[2] http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/4805.htm

[3] http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/4805.htm

[4] Amber Albee Swenson, Bible Moms (Sisters, Oregon: Trusted Books, VMI Publishers), 2007) p. 57

[5] Amber Albee Swenson, Bible Moms (Sisters, Oregon: Trusted Books, VMI Publishers), 2007) p. 57