Living God’s Way

May 6, 2019

‘If our lives are centred in the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit.’Galatians 5:25 PHPS

Paul wrote: ‘The fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’ (Galatians 5:22–23 AMP)

Let’s think about two of these Christ-like qualities:

(1) Unselfish concern for others. You stop seeing people as objects that need to be straightened out, avoided or used for your own benefit. When Jesus looked at people, ‘He was moved with compassion.’ (Matthew 9:36 KJV) When that happens, two wonderful things occur. First, you conquer selfishness and become concerned with somebody other than yourself. Second, you develop a sense of gratitude for blessings you may have taken for granted. In other words, compassion expands your field of vision beyond your immediate friends to others.

(2) How we act while waiting. When you hold back your impatience, you stop seeing people who have gentle, loving spirits as ‘wimps’ who never achieve much. Paul wrote, ‘We behaved gently when we were among you.’ (1 Thessalonians 2:7 AMP) And Paul was no wimp! Sometimes the reason we’re so driven is we fear that if we become more gentle and loving, we might stop getting ahead and fall behind in the race. That kind of fearful, frantic thinking drains the creativity out of your life—not to mention the joy. And any success you enjoy is in spite of your stress, not because of it. Look at Jesus. He wasn’t in a hurry, He seldom raised His voice, He took time for children, He loved people and lifted them. He gave us an example of the kind of life God has invited all of us to live.

SoulFood: Num 30:1–32:24, Mark 5:1–10, Ps 44:9–16, Pro 11:10–11
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©

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