It Starts Small

I wrote yesterday about the Trinity of Experience. The Fruit of the Spirit are the nine characteristics of our Heavenly Father made manifest in us through the Holy Spirit. They are not individualistic, one at s time, characteristics. When we are walking right, completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit, he manifests the character of God in us. All nine flavors of one fruit are worked through us. You do not have one without the other. The trinity of experience is not only what we experience through the Holy Spirit, but it is what others witness in us.

²² …longsuffering, gentleness, goodness…

The next three characteristics all deal with how we act. They are how we conduct ourselves in our relationship with others and the world around us.

long suffering

This is a word almost all of us dread to hear or think about, or to do. Long suffering is patience in the face of trouble. God’s word is full of how we are to be long-suffering. Patient. How about we change it to having endurance. Endurance to meet suffering. A great example is Abraham and Sarah. They waited a very, very long time for a son. They were told by God, as elderly folk, that they were going to be parents. I am not old, but neither am I young, and I can certainly understand why Sarah laughed when she heard God was going to make her a mother in her very old age. It is in these impossible situations we face, we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us with endurance.

We have to believe and trust God for who He IS and fight our propensity to doubt, worry, and despair during trials and suffering. We all know the story of Job. WHat we learn through Job is that our Heavenly Father has big shoulders. Job’s suffering was unfair and long, but he never lost faith in God. Job teaches us how to come to God with EVERY emotion and to depend upon the Lord’s strength. God doesn’t want us to stand in His presence, in HIs throne room and pretend everything is unicorns and butterflies. He wants our heart. He wants all of us, and if that means you spend a few moments yelling to Him, he wants you to yell to Him. Cry on his shoulder. We should never feel ashamed of coming to Him as we are.

James wrote a beautiful passage about long suffering.

¹² Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1:12

Peter wrote, happy are they they suffer.

⁴ But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 1 Peter 3:14

We rejoice in suffering because our God, our Heavenly Father is a waymaker and will guide us, comfort us, and lead us through the storms and trials.

Peter went on to write, that our sufferings make us stronger!

¹⁰ But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10

Through Christ’s suffering, our own is a method to transforming us into our new creature and will strengthen us for the next stormy night.

Long suffering is one of the most underutilized gifts of God. I know, who wants to suffer long? Long suffering teaches us to not give into temptation or to give up. God’s longsuffering and patience with us is a gift of grace. The world does not have a positive view of endurance. We live in a world where everything is almost instant. It has become ingrained in us to rush about and hurry along to get to where we are going. We treat others and ill circumstances as inconveniences. We want God to hurry up and be God so we can rush forward to the next thing. Can you imagine if God was impatient with us? Long suffering is a virtue, and only one that can come by the Holy Spirit.

Long suffering is extending love towards those who drive us crazy at work. Those in our relationships that are hard to get along with. Long suffering is being patient and understanding to the random driver that cuts you off. Long suffering is looking to our Heavenly Father in the midst of suffering knowing He is God and in control.

gentleness

Being a gentle person is not a weak sentimental wishy-washy type of person. Gentleness is quite the opposite and requires a great amount of kindness and self control. Gentleness comes from a state of humility and the complete opposite of gentleness is pride which comes in the form of easily angered and revengeful.

Jesus showed great gentleness in John 8. A woman was caught in the act of adultery. They drug her out to the street to be stoned as was the law of Moses. Jesus spoke on her behalf and said those who are sinless, let them cast the first stone. No one could throw the stone so they all left. Jesus’ act of gentleness was in how he treated her.

¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:11

Jesus did not condemn her, label her, school her, judge her, or belittle her. Instead he simply said, go and sin no more. What do we do in these situations, when another’s sin has been found out? How would you handle that situation? Would you line up to cast a stone, or look upon her with the love of Christ and be gentle?

Gentle people are those who speak from the heart. If your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit you speak from love. A heart not filled, speaks hate condemnation and evil. Gentleness is not breaking the broken, but instead, letting God use you to rebuild them. God wants us to be gentle with others.

¹⁴ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15

A gentle heart comes from loving others. This is shown in our thoughts by the way we interact with the world around us.

goodness

I believe goodness is often overlooked. I heard a good saying: be good, do right. I think this is close to Godly definition of goodness. Goodness is manifested when we are in complete obedience to God. Jesus is our supreme example of goodness. Everywhere he went, he went about doing good. We can look at all his acts of goodness and look at them as if they were a touch of love. A perfect touch love from His heavenly father.

None of us are good. It is only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can the act of goodness be done. Goodness is acting out the love of God by helping and meeting the needs of others. Goodness is holiness put to practice.

⁸ O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8

Only God is good. By His own nature he is good. People can have good traits, but their works, unless worked through the Holy Spirit, will never be pure and good. Only goodness comes from God.

³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

The goodness of God is evident in all of creation. We can not earn the merit of goodness, it is a gift given to us and worked through us.

³⁴ O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

⁵ For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100:5

Because of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, we not only experience God’s goodness, but his goodness is worked through us.

Trinity of Conduct

How are we to go about life? With patience and endurance, gentleness, and goodness. These three gifts, fruit of the Spirit, are how we are to walk everyday. These gifts are not only experiencing God in our personal self, but extending this experience to others. There is no room for pride in our conduct. Pride acts with a selfish purpose and motive. Pride is not patient or enduring. Pride is not acts of kindness but acts of self motivated works to receive instead of give. Pride does not perform works of good, but works of evil.

Only through the Holy Spirit can we BE FILLED to receive the grace of God and allow him to work in the way we conduct ourselves.