Imitators of Christ

(our theme for October)

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

 

I am a fan of the Amazon Kindle. I bought my first one in 2007 and I've had one ever since. One of the many things I like about my Kindle is that I can change the book's font and font size when I need to. As I get older the size creeps upward, slowly but surely.

Not long ago Galatians chapter five was in my daily bible reading. I don't remember why, but that morning I felt like I needed to increase the font size on my Kindle. When I did, the line with verse 22 readjusted itself so it read, "the fruit of the spirit is love," and the line broke after the comma.

I just sort of stared at that line and repeated that phrase in my mind: "the fruit of the spirit is love." Every other time in my life that I've heard the fruit of the spirit enumerated, all the aspects are listed together. I don't want to disregard any of the others, but "the fruit of the spirit is love" just sort of set up camp in my mind.

It made me think. What does that really mean? What kind of love comes from the Holy Spirit? Is it possible to love outside the spirit? If love comes from the spirit, is love possible for those who don't believe in the spirit? I know people who don't know or care a thing about God that love their families and friends, and show acts of love to others. Is that real love or something else?

The answer is that there are many types of love. There is romantic love, and brotherly love, as well as love for children or parents. The love mentioned in this verse is a love that comes only from God. The New Testament was written in Greek, and while we only have one word for love, the Greeks had several. The word used here, agape, describes God's love. It is a love unlike all other human love. It describes an unconditional, sacrificial love that is at the same time warm and fatherly. It is a selfless love, not based on feelings, but on commitment. It is the love that sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. It is a love that originates in God's heart and flows to us.

This love is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible. Jesus said in John's gospel, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” And again, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." Paul, in his letter to the Romans, wrote, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The verb form of agape is used in maybe the best known verse in the bible, "“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

The best news you will hear today is that while agape love originates with God and flows from His heart, if God's Spirit lives in you, you have that love in you too. That is the fruit that Paul writes about in this scripture. It is a free gift from God, and the more we grow in Him, the greater that love grows.

 

Prayer:

Father, thank you for the love only you can give. Thank you for showing that love in a way that made it possible for to you live in us. May we all continue to grow closer to you and to love like you love. Amen.

 

This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.