Part 1 – Introduction

When we make the decision to follow Jesus and we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior, things start to change in our lives because we start to change. Our circumstances may remain the same, we may still have a child who is addicted, estranged, or living in a way that has caused us pain and anxiety, but our way of responding changes. In fact, our negative and damaging emotions and reactions begin to be overcome and replaced by ones that are positive and life-giving.

As we grow in our relationship with Jesus and we open ourselves up to being led by the Holy Spirit, we receive what is called the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit reflects in our lives who God created us to be and becomes the basis for how we conduct ourselves. It is at the very core of how we feel and act.
Instead of feeling and acting hateful, sad, anxious, impatient, unkind, vile, inconsistent, gruff, and out of control, the Holy Spirit gives everyone who belongs to Jesus the ability to feel and act in a way the reflects who we are in Him. The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Just like physical fruit needs time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not manifest itself in our lives overnight. We must constantly work to rid our lives of the “weeds” of our old self that want to choke out the work of the Spirit. The good news is that the Holy Spirit can and will give us the power to move away from our old, sinful nature and the negative emotions and reactions that go with it.

As we give the Spirit more control of our lives, He begins to do in and through us what only He can do – to shape us and grow us to look like Jesus, and as this happens we begin to experience the freedom that we have been seeking. In 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 it says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lords’ glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

As we approach Christmas, the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our savior, let’s stay focused on who we are in Him. Many of us are anticipating the holiday with dread because of the circumstances with our children and in our families. But, if we remember why we celebrate and we center our hearts and minds on Jesus, we will experience the freedom that comes with allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives.

Over the next month, I will be writing a series of blogs that talk about each of the characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit. My prayer is that it will help me, as I write, and you, as you read, to stay open to the Spirit as we battle our “weeds” so the Fruit can grow and flourish in our lives regardless of what is going on with our children.

“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.” Galatians 5:22-23

by Cathy Taylor