Probably the quintessential description of the
perfect Christian attitude is in Gal. 5:22,
23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Love is the fruit. Love is God, God is love,
love is all. The rest of these attitudes are different facets of the love of
God that the Holy Spirit grows in our lives. When it comes to sharing our
faith, these attitudes are more fruitful than we can imagine. And when we
honestly contrast these spiritual fruits with some of our common attitudes, the
difference is downright, well, nutty! It’s important to realize that when we
catch ourselves displaying unfruitful attitudes, there is no need to beat
ourselves up. We get afraid and angry, and sometimes we hurt each other. We don’t
mean to. If we take a look, with some judicious perspective and occasionally a
dose of humor, maybe we can short-circuit our “old selves,” take a deep, fresh
breath of God’s love, and try again.
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