But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self- control. Galatians 5:22-23
The “fruit of the Spirit”consist of nine qualities that summarize the essence of Christ’s character that He wants to develop in His people by His Spirit. In other words, our personality traits should line up point-by-point with Galatians 5:22-23 as we grow to be like Christ. So lets talk definitions of each of these nine to insure we’re perfectly clear!
LOVE is the determination to meet the needs of someone else, perhaps even before your own.
JOY is the ability to appreciate life.
PEACE is the calmness and confidence of knowing God is always in control.
LONGSUFFERING is the knack of putting up with people and circumstances in a loving manner.
KINDNESS is the practice of going out of out your way to do nice things for people.
GOODNESS is both the display and implementation of moral integrity.
FAITHFULNESS is the habit of being utterly dependable.
GENTLENESS is the soft covering of strength.
SELF-CONTROL is the capacity of doing what we don’t feel like, and not doing what we do feel like.
Do these attitudes describe you?
Ask the Lord today to mature you this new year in His orchard to further develop within you these nine fruit.
“Destinations: Your Journey With God” devotional by David Jeremiah January 7. Adapted from a sermon by Robert J Morgan.