LOVE'S DIET

"I never saw a fruit-bearing Christian who was not a student of the Bible." - D.L. Moody

Galatians 5:22-23 (NET)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. .

Lots of people would like their relationships and their homes to be filled with joy. In the fruit of the spirit, joy is the first word used to tell us what and how this fruit is. It's fun to live with people who are truly excited and joyful. The next word we see is peace. Everyone who's reasoning well generally loves a happy and peaceful atmosphere. It's such a blessing to have a peaceful person with you, one who takes pleasure in being gentle and in making you feel like you re in Heaven on earth; someone who makes your heart feel calm and at rest. The next thing mentioned in today's scripture text is patience or forbearance. For many reasons we prefer people who can be patient with us through thick and thin. Each of us would love to be with someone who is devoted to being with us no matter what it is they'd have to go through as a result. When people stay with us despite all odds, it's usually a sign that they're committed to us. We can go on and on talking about each of the things listed in the fruit of the Spirit but what I want you to see and appreciate is that these are the things we all desire to have in our relationships. These things will make any relationship really sweet as they define the benchmark of what an ideal relationship should be.

I have heard people talk of living happily ever after when they describe their expectations of what they would love their homes to be like. The presence of the fruit of the Spirit in your relationship, your home and your marriage is what makes that dream a reality. I must point out that some Bible teachers have said that the "spirit" mentioned in Galatians 5:22 is not the Holy Spirit but your own spirit that has been made new because of your union with our Lord Jesus. E. W Kenyon calls it your recreated human spirit. I think that explanation of Galatians 5 makes sense because you're the branch and you're the one who bears fruits, not God. That will mean therefore that the fruit of the spirit mentioned here speaks of the natural tendencies, if you like, of the new man in Christ. If these tendencies can practically hold sway in our lives and become what people know us for, what a lovely relationship, home and marriage we'll build when we come together! Now we know what we want, the question then is how do we realise these things? How do we realise the fruit of the spirit in our relationships/marriages?

The answer is simple: The seed is the Word of God, the Bible says so. A fruit is that which grows naturally on a plant or on a tree after a seed that was planted has grown and matured. For every good thing that comes from God, the seed is the Word of God. I can grow any spiritual fruit by consistently planting and watering the Word. That therefore means that if I plant God's Word consistently in my spirit and water it consistently, my spirit will by default produce fruit consistent with the Word that I have planted and watered. In our relationships we need to deliberately place ourselves on the diet of the Word. We can actually be deliberate about growing the fruit of the spirit. One way to do this is for both of you to take portions of the Bible, read and study them separately, review/discuss the lessons learnt and pray them into your lives and relationship/marriage. You will not accidentally produce the fruit of the spirit, that's why D. L Moody made the statement we opened with today. Every time I write a post God is speaking to me as well. If I must keep seeing the things God has kept in stock, I have a responsibility to comply with the wisdom of God that I share as much as you have the responsibility to adhere to the same wisdom of God I share with you. Let's sit down with our spouses/partners and creatively design ways to deliberately plant and water the Word for the kind of amazing relationships and homes we so earnestly desire.

Keep Loving, Keep Living...............LOVE ISSUES
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