But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Galatians 5:22-25
We are all making our mark in this world, one way or another – good or bad, favorable or unfavorable. What kind of mark are we making? Are we making a good impression, an imprint, a favorable feel, a proudly signed signature with a heart emoji, or are we leaving a spot, a blotch, a smudge, a scar, or even a stain? We get to choose how we will live here on earth, and our heritage, our legacy when we’re gone. As children of God, it only seems right to follow the example of our Father. When Jesus set out to make His mark, He went to the producer of the mark. He went to the Mark-Maker, the Holy Spirit, the One who produces fruit that is mark-worthy.
When Jesus sought to enrich others, He mined in the quarry of Holy Spirit. Charles Spurgeon
Isn’t that cool? Mining is something we know just a little about in West Virginia, even if we’re not miners. The quarry of the Holy Spirit holds deep veins of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. Close your eyes and picture that. Priceless fruit. When I read those, I wondered why they were listed in that particular order or was it even a particular order? Are they listed in order of importance? Are they listed in sequential order? Definitely not alphabetical order. But, the order is intriguing to me. Can we have any of them without the other? You know, joy without love? Gentleness without self-control? Faithfulness without peace or peace without faithfulness? Do you see what I’m saying? Each fruit is independent of the other fruit but each fruit is interdependent on the other fruit. Each fruit and all fruit is a resource or deposit to be extracted and refined in the quarry of Holy Spirit.
Let’s look at Love, it is a pretty loose word these days, isn’t it? It flows so easily from our lips. We exclaim love about everything from ice cream flavors, to lipstick shades, to clothing styles, to jobs, to vehicles, to sports teams, etc. Do we even know what it really means? We throw the word around to the point that it has lost its meaning. In fact, we have to say I love, love, love… in order to make sure others believe us! You know what they say, loose love lips sink ships?
We need to get back to the basics of love. We need to reclaim the true meaning of God’s love. Love is not up to man’s interpretation, love is exactly what God says it is. The Word tells us on nearly every page what love is and just how much God loves us. God did not place conditions on His love for us. God’s love is not a feeling, it’s an action. God’s love makes its mark on our lives. In that same way, as His children, we too are to make our mark on others with God’s love. What kind of mark will we make with our love? A beautiful mark, or a bruise? What’s our love mark look like to others?
Wednesday There are four types of love in the Bible. The first mention of the word love in the Bible is found in Genesis 22:2. This type of love is called storge. The love of a father for a son. Dig in your Bible and find two other examples of storge love.
Thursday The second type of love noted in the Bible is philios. Read Romans 12:10. Read John 13:35. Read John 15:13. Based on these scriptures, what is the definition of philios love?
Friday Next we explore eros. Read Song of Solomon. The greatest example of romantic love in the Bible. We’ve allowed our world today to completely denigrate and redefine the meaning of this love. Do we eros our spouses in a Biblical way?
Saturday Meditate on the three types of love we’ve just explored, storge, philos, eros. Pray the Holy Spirit’s guidance and direction in enacting those loves to others. Pray that the Spirit opens your heart to be able to express family love, brotherly love and romantic love so that the recipients of those expressions will understand how much you love them.
Sunday Read Ephesians 5:1-2. Read John 13:34. Read Matthew 5:46-47. Who are we to imitate? How are we to imitate? How did Jesus love the world?
Monday And finally, agape. Study Ephesians 2:4-10. God loved us so much that He… In these verses is love expressed in a feeling or an action? God said I Love You in these verses by giving the greatest gift of all, grace. God’s grace is an act of love. We are to imitate this kind of unconditional love. How do we put this kind of love into action? What does that look like?
Tuesday Read John 3:16-17. We probably know these verses by heart, God’s ultimate act of love, to die for sinners, to die for us, so that we would have eternal life. Chew on that a little. The ultimate self-sacrifice. Do we love others like that? Do we love others enough? Enough to risk positions, friends, reputations, condemnation, to lay down our lives for others – to do love?