I just couldn’t let the month of February go by without
writing a little “sumthin-sumthin” about love.
Last week, I had the most amazing, inspiring topic in my head. As I powered up my laptop and sat down to
write, my love child demanded my attention and the whole thing left my mind as
quickly as it came. In moments like these,
I thank God that he gave me a such a remarkable brain.
Though something great may get deleted, something greater will come
later. (insert cheesy smile)
Sooooooooo…
This morning, during my devotional, I came across good ol’
Galatians 5. Reading “The Fruits of The
Spirit” on a daily basis helps me stay grounded in what my purpose is on this
planet. I rarely even read the prior section
that discusses “The Fruits of The Flesh”.
Before I get too deep into that, let’s take a look at the word “HARMONY”.
Harmony, as it applies to music, is a bunch of different
instruments, or even a bunch of different voices, coming together to create one
sound. And not just any sound, but a
well-blended, beautiful sound. A sound
that is pleasing to the ears. Harmony,
as it applies to people, is to agree and be on one accord. The opposite of harmony, in either music or
people is fighting, opposition, discord, disagreement, imbalance, instability,
etc. The first thing I thought of when I
read the definition is that whether the word is applied to music or people, it
describes relationships.
Harmony is the main component in “The Fruits of The Spirit”. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,
Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control are all behaviors we
express to others. In our relationships,
we must demonstrate “The Fruits of The Spirit” not only as a means of treating
others well but also because it is the exact opposite of “The Fruits of The
Flesh”.
Galatians 5 describes maybe 15-17 “Fruits of The Flesh”, depending on which translation you are reading. Some of those are sexual immorality, hatred,
discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy and drunkenness. These are all behaviors that have a negative
impact on our relationships. When we
practice these behaviors, we are not
living in harmony and therefore doing the opposite
of what God has called us to do and therefore verse 21 states “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 7:21-23 states (from the mouth of
Jesus Christ Himself), “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will
of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did
we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name
perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.
Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Jesus gave us the blueprint on what we must do to fulfill the will of
His Father, Our Father, in heaven. When
we operate in the flesh, it is impossible to set our sights on spiritual things
and we fall short of living in harmony with others. We must set our hearts and minds on operating
in the spirit so that we can have harmony in our relationships and ultimately inherit
the kingdom God has prepared for those who obey Him.
The world can bash our faith, our lifestyle and say that
Christianity is “an opiate for the people” but we know better. We don’t have blind faith. We have a tangible faith. The saints of the Old Testament trusted in
God’s word and His word was manifested in time.
We have access to countless testimonies in the Bible, in our lives and
in the lives of other saints around us.
We are not just hoping that God will fulfill His promises; we know for a
fact that He will! He is not a man that He should lie and He has a consistent record of fulfilling His promises.
The Month of Love is now coming to a close but as we bid
farewell to February, let’s remember the greatest command God gave us. LOVE!
After all, it is a verb…
