Galatians 5:22-25

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

This evening’s Bible passage is Gal. 5:22-25:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

I can think of no better description of the person I would like to be. Which of us would not want our lives to be characterized by “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control”.

I find it comforting and encouraging, therefore, to know that these qualities are the fruit of the Spirit rather than the fruit of my hard work. If it were up to me, I’d fail repeatedly and fall short permanently. But the Spirit is committed to remaking each of us in the image of Christ and, by God’s grace, we can trust that what the Spirit sets out to accomplish, he will in the end achieve. The Spirit’s work takes a lifetime (note that patience is part of the fruit) and will need some major (and, I believe, instant) completion after this life, but it will be done. Paul wrote elsewhere, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Each of us will be able to look in a heavenly mirror, as it were, and give thanks for the “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, [and] self-control” that the Spirit has patiently and at last completely caused to bud, blossom, and ripen into fruit.

In the meantime, though, there are things we can do to make the process a little smoother. The fruit of the Spirit is the work of the Spirit, but Paul also tells us that we are to “walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16), “be led by the Spirit” (5:18), “live by the Spirit,” (5:25), “keep in step with the Spirit” (5:25), and “sow to the Spirit” (6:8). These are metaphors, not to be taken literally but well worth spending some time prayerfully considering. By way of a brief example, I’ll look at the three that together form a composite image: walk with, be led by, and keep in step with the Spirit.

This trio of metaphors suggest that the Spirit takes our hand and leads us along the most direct path to the bearing of the fruit for which, deep down, we long. Things will go much more smoothly if, rather than being dragged, screaming and kicking, we allow ourselves to be “led by” him. Insisting that we know better what “love” is or what will bring us “joy” or “peace” not only slows matters down but can result in self-inflicted bruises.

We can do more. We can “walk with [or alongside] him,” actively keeping up with him rather than dawdling and detouring. He’ll wait for us if we delay and he’ll come after us if we sprint down a side path or ignore a “No Entry” sign. Our walking with him isn’t a condition of the Spirit getting us there, but it does make the journey a lot more enjoyable. 

We can do yet more. We can “keep in step with the Spirit.” A footpath goes through the greenway behind our house. Ann and I see a lot of people out walking. Sometimes we notice that two people are not only walking alongside each other, but are walking in step, feet moving at the same pace and legs moving in time with their companion’s legs, right with right, left with left. It’s not a conscious choice. It’s just something that seems to happen with people who are used to walking alongside one another. I suspect that keeping in step with the Spirit doesn’t come to us quite so naturally, but we can certainly practice imitating the “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, [and] self-control” that is characteristic of the Holy Spirit’s own walk. Who knows? One day, we may catch ourselves walking in step with him without even thinking about it. 

Your brother in Christ,

Max