Tuesday, February 28, 2017

iHarmony: Live to Love


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… 

1 comment:

  1. Great commentary! To GOD be the glory for using you at such a time as this!

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