My post today is really just a reflection of the post from my fellow Kingdom Bloggers this week. I've very much enjoyed what each has said this week and taken time to reflect how their message applies in my own life.Tracy's passage from Galatians 5:22-23 is one of my personal favorites. Living in the Spirit not only bears the fruit God expects from our lives...life itself tends to become a lot less burdensome when we experience and strive to multiply the 9 attributes the Apostle Paul discusses as a result.
When David Johndrow picked freedom and fruits of the Spirits in back-to-back weeks as our subject matters, it was as if Galatians Chapter 5 was on his heart. Paul tells the Galatians that through Christ they are free (from Mosaic law?). He then goes on to warn them not to use their freedom to indulge their sinful nature but to serve one another in love. Next, he echoes one of the two greatest commandments as taught by Jesus by summing the entire law into one command...love your neighbor as yourself.
Love, love, love...dump-ty dump...love, love, love...all you need is love, love. Love is all you need.
Outside of the Holy Bible, no where is it stated better than the classic Beatles' song. First fruit of living in the Spirit listed by Paul in Galatians...love. His letter to the Corinthians list love, faith and hope as spiritual gifts...love being the greater of the three. The same Epistle also tells us...love never fails.
It should be quite obvious to the Christian that love is a fruit of most value to God. He demonstrates by example with the mercy and grace He bestows upon us. Jesus lived in flesh and walked among us 2000 years ago preaching and exhibiting love to a world that didn't love Him back...and in His last act of love, He looked to God and begged forgiveness for the very ones that tortured and killed Him.
I could go on and on with numerous examples that we all know by heart as Christians. That is why it is so difficultly hard for me to understand people claiming to love God doing this...
Apparently, the folks at Westboro Church don't read the same Bible I do because that looks more like bitterweed than fruit.
God love 'em...and I will sure try hard.
5 comments:
You seriously...have got to be a hippy in your heart. Love, love, love...
Fred Phelps needs to be loved by fellow Christians by using the Bible to teach how to rebuke in love. (They do both go together although some of us can't quite get the balance right.)
1 Timothy 5:20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
Titus 1:13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
Titus 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
BTW- I wasn't actually going to post each of those scriptures. I was looking for the one from 2 Timothy and found all these together and stole them. ;)
Peace. Not War.
I feel so sad when I see these pics on the bottom.
I'm totally with you on the love thing. Perhaps in Michelle's mind we're both hippies; but even I'm too young for that phase of history, so you've definitely missed it. Seriously, if we're not filled with and motivated by His love, we've missed the point.
Jesus will be the judge - He already said exactly what He would judge, and when - why don't these idiots get it?
Out job is to love our wives, our neighbors, our brothers and our enemies. Did He leave anyone out?
Love certainly has and element of correction - but God simply hates sin.
1 John 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
Great word! We so miss the message of the gospel when we hammer away at legalism - I am not going to get on my soap box on this but you get the idea.
I always liked that Beetles song.
The folks in the pics surely give real Christians a bad name. Can we categorize them as radical extreemist?
I was in the hippie era.
Love is all we need. Love is all we need. Love is all we need.
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