Living in the Spirit
June 24, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. –Galatians 5:16-25
What struck me as I read through the above scripture was that at times, I spend more time in the works of the flesh mode than in the fruit of the Spirit. Probably, like most of you who read this, I do not dwell on the first six which are the most common sins of the flesh nor on envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like that. I am stuck in the middle trying to interact with people with whom I totally disagree and who totally disagree with me. Dissensions and factions exist in my life. I invest a lot in wrestling with God to straighten out my attitude so I can approach people without anger or quarrels. Such negative responses rarely help.
The King James Version of the Bible translates the word Greek word makrothumia as longsuffering. NRSV quoted above uses the word patience. While the word patience is much nicer to hear, I think longsuffering describes my attitude better. However, the scripture describes the gift of the Spirit, as all those attributes rolled into one big gift. So, if I have love, I must also have the capacity for patience—longsuffering. We must welcome all the gifts as they become necessary in our lives. A train is not a train with just one car. It must be linked together to fulfill its purpose. Any empty cars between the engine and the caboose, are present and prepared for use when needed as are all the components of the gift of the Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, help me improve my skills using all of your gifts. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.