Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, humility, self-contol: against such there is no law.
The Fruit or results and benefits for living a spiritual life are found in this passage of Paul's writings found in Galatians. I will look at each one and discuss how attending to the spiritual part of ourselves enables us to reap such benefits.
Love:
When we focus on God through Meditation, prayer, Scripture reading we come to greater awareness of God's great Love toward us. We also see ourselves in the light of God's grace and are therefore able to love ourselves in an authentic honest way. This therefore enables us to love and accept others with the same love and grace that we have received. Our life then is filled with Love- Love for and from God, Love for ourselves, and Love for others....this is a spiritual Fruit that proceeds from our Human Spirit.
Joy:
Joy is an inner strength that lifts us up, it elevates us with feelings of happiness and elation. It is not dependent on surrounding circumstances but is found in our human spirit.
Peace:
This is an awareness and of wellbeing," All is well". It also comes from the Human Spirit or heart and is not depending on what is going on around you. It is closely related with joy. In the mist of crisis and trouble a Spiritual person has a reserve of strength that comes from Peace and Joy that can enable them to remain steady and secure.
Patience (longsuffering):
The awareness of the big picture. "not sweating the small stuff" Understanding of the purpose or results behind where one is at. The ability not to simply react to life but to remain stable and secure. Not easily moved by how one is feeling but focusing on Truth.
Gentleness:
kindness and caring toward others and how they are feeling. This fruit is very closely related as well to Patience. In fact all of the fruits are closely related to each other and flow from the human heart that is connected to and growing in spirituality.
Goodness:
The ability to do and express goodness. Doing good as a way of life. It was said of Christ that wherever he went he did Good. This suggest service to others, concern and making a difference.
Faith (Faithfulness)
Reliable, consistent, the ability to be counted on. Integrity, Responsible. Faith should make one Faithful.
Meekness (Humility):
Meekness is sometimes wrongly considered weakness. Actually the opposite is true. True meekness or Humility is borne from a strong healthy spiritual life and does not need to promote self or brag about one's self. The awareness of this strength enables one to serve and live out their life selflessly because one is secure in themselves and their spirituality. Christ is the perfect example of this. Although He was the Christ he never felt it necessary to announce or promote this fact. In fact he many times discouraged others from sharing his identity.
Self-control:
The awareness that spiritual strength enables one to rise above their own weakness or needs and allows them not to be at the whim of every feeling or emotion that arises. Whether it is appetite, sexuality or any of the other drives and needs we humans have. These are gifts of God and are a wonderful blessing. However we do not have to be controlled by them. We are more than just our needs. For the GLBT Christian this becomes a powerful witness. We are not ashamed of our sexuality, in fact we embrace it and express it in healthy ways. However we are not controlled by it either. It is a blessed part of who we are, but is not the totality of who we are either.
These fruits or results of true spirituality are the signs of balance and wellbeing that are produced by a person who addresses the total of who they are. Human Life is about living from a healthy center of who we are and expressing God's goodness through our lives. This is true spiritual living and in fact is the truest kind of worship and faith.
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