Not a Dance
“Patience is not naturally present in me, and so when it shows up, I know it is Christ living in me.”
What a joy it was to hear from Annie F. Downs at church this week, and when she uttered the phrase above, it both resonated with and convicted me. In a moment, I realized the fairly ugly truth that when something good turns up in my character, I am quick to claim it, but when something less lovely turns up, I am far more likely to excuse it or explain it away.
The “fruits of the Spirit” are listed in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Because the Holy Spirit lives in you, when you read that list, you should both recognize those traits as evident in your life and recognize that their existence in your life confirms the presence of One much greater living in you!
Let’s work backwards. Earlier in Galatians 5, we find this list: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (Gal. 5:19-21). When I read that list, my mind immediately jumps to the ones I feel I’m conquering. It is an instinctive reaction, and one of self-justification. It’s as though I want to proclaim, “I’m good on that one!”
I am much slower to acknowledge where I am falling short, and where my flesh is much more evident than is the fruit of the Spirit.
Here is crux of the issue, my friend, and the point of conflict I want us to honestly and genuinely grapple with this week: The Spirit God sent to lead you (v. 18) is in constant conflict with the flesh that wants to lead you astray!
It is not a dance or a contest; It is a war! The Spirit and the flesh are fundamentally at odds with one another, and God would have you and me to be free (v. 1)!
But what does freedom look like? Our passage tells us plainly: It means resisting the urge to “indulge the flesh” and instead “serv[ing] one another humbly in love” (v. 13).
Let me be candid: It is easy to select a few of those “big” things in the list of fleshly desires to justify ourselves. Even as each of us works to resist those things, as long as we are trying only to avoid them, we will fall short.
It is only when we allow the Holy Spirit to replace those urges in us with His presence that we will see signs of His fruit in our life!
Like Annie, my flesh falls far short of being naturally patient (or for that matter, loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or full of self-control). Your flesh is equally lacking.
But the Spirit lives in you! So all those traits can and should flow out of you! And when they do this week, remember to take note of the life-saving truth: It is evidence of the Spirit who lives in you! You belong to Jesus and have victory over fleshly things (v. 24)!
So, when a fruit of the Spirit shows up in you this week, revel in the freedom from flesh it represents. Jesus lives in you!
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.