The Fruit part 5
I think a lot the time we are looking for love in all the wrong places. Or we're willing to settle for less than because we don't think we're worthy of love. We don't think we deserve it, or don't think we've earned it, or don't think we can have it. So we try to fill that God-shaped (love-shaped) void with anything and everything else. The entire book of Ecclesiastes is about this search for what can fill us. And it's all vanity. There is nothing that can fill a God-shaped (love-shaped) hole... but God (love)! And there is nowhere that we can go to, or find love, but at the source. Look at Hebrews 4:16 (NLT), "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." And look at Genesis 6:8, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." He found it... because he was looking for it. And he knew WHERE to look. Finding grace in God's eyes is the same thing as boldy coming to the throne of grace. That's the source. That's where everything we need comes from. James 1:17 (NLT) tells us that, "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." I believe the KJV says, "Father of lights." Which I like because He is our Father and we are the light of the world! Every good and perfect gift flows down from, or out of, our heavenly Father. That is our source. Let me say it another way: He is the vine and we are the branches. He produces the good fruit (from the good tree... the Tree of Life) in us, and then we bear it. We make it available to the people around us. Because that's the key--you are what you eat, but it's a love FEAST. And feasts are to be shared with everybody. There's a parable in Luke chapter 14 about a banquet. And when the invited guests won't come, "...his master said, 'Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full'" (Luke 14:23 NLT). When you have what everybody--EVERYBODY--needs... it would be a crime not to share it. Unconditionally. Without reservation or judgment. Simply giving what you've got because A) You know and believe you've got it and B) You know how good it is and you want to share that goodness with the people around you! God blesses us to be a blessing. He gives us gifts so that we can share those gifts with each other. Love is giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. Like living and loving. You can't live without loving and you can't love without living. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. So when we're talking about the fruit of the Spirit--which is love--we're talking about eating it... and sharing it. Experiencing it... by giving it away. People are hungry. And they're hungry for something real. They're hungry for love. They want so desperately to have what we have. So instead of making them jump through hoops to get it... let's just give it to them! Let's just fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with so that it can come out of us. Naturally. With every breath we take and every move we make. Let's get to the point where we don't judge whether or not we think people deserve love... and let's just love them! God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's what this life is for. That's what this life is all about. That's what this life IS. It comes from being healthy. Having the right diet. Eating the right fruit from the right tree. The Tree of Life. The fruit of the Spirit. Love!