Saturday 26 March 2022
- Bible Book:
- Galatians
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (v. 22)
Background
Today we return to the theme that Paul set out in Thursday’s passage. How does the freedom that we gain from faith in Christ play out in real life? To answer that question, Paul turns to one of his favourite contrasts, between a life ‘in the flesh’ and a life ruled by the Spirit. It’s easy to misunderstand this and think that Paul wants us to abandon the physical world and the inclinations that go with our physical existence. That’s not what he means, though. Living by the flesh means, in Paul’s terms, living at odds with the will and love of God, preferring to follow our own pattern of life. The result, he says, is a disordered life, one that succumbs to selfishness and produces a breakdown in relationships. Life in the Spirit, on the other hand, takes us in the opposite direction, one in which our love for our neighbour is expressed in openness, peacefulness, kindness and joy.
So, for Paul, the Spirit of God guides the Christian community into a life of freedom through service.
It is one of the tragedies of history that Christians have so rarely followed Paul’s advice. Not only have Christians often been bad neighbours to others (think of the shameful history of Christian antisemitism), they have all too often been in conflict with each other. Even as these notes are being written, Orthodox Christians are facing each other on the streets of Ukrainian cities.
To Ponder:
- What does freedom mean to you? How different is your vision from that of Paul?
- How would your life and the life of your church be changed by living in the Spirit?