The Fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5: 22,23
This list in Galatians is perhaps the most well known list of virtues, memorised by many of us in song, preached in countless sermon series and stitched into Bible samplers.
But the fact that we know it so well does not mean that we are any better at living this way. We have seen over these weeks of Lent that the challenge of cultivating character is a huge one- one that involves far more than knowing what to do, and one that will take our whole lives here on earth to achieve. The image of a tree is one that we have seen before, and a helpful one because it reminds us that we should not be surprised if we don't see instant signs of growth- these are fruits whose cultivation will take time, intentionality, sunshine and rain.
David Brooks, in his book on character that I mentioned yesterday, describes people of character like this:
Occasionally, even today, you come across certain people who seem to possess an impressive inner cohesion. They are not leading fragmented, scattershot lives. They have achieved inner integration . They are calm, settled, rooted. They are not blown off course by storms. They don't crumble in adversity. Their minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable. Their virtues are not the blooming virtues you see in smart college students; they are the ripening virtues you see in people who have lived a little and learned from joy and pain.
"The Road to Character" p. xiv
Galatians 5: 22,23
This list in Galatians is perhaps the most well known list of virtues, memorised by many of us in song, preached in countless sermon series and stitched into Bible samplers.
But the fact that we know it so well does not mean that we are any better at living this way. We have seen over these weeks of Lent that the challenge of cultivating character is a huge one- one that involves far more than knowing what to do, and one that will take our whole lives here on earth to achieve. The image of a tree is one that we have seen before, and a helpful one because it reminds us that we should not be surprised if we don't see instant signs of growth- these are fruits whose cultivation will take time, intentionality, sunshine and rain.
David Brooks, in his book on character that I mentioned yesterday, describes people of character like this:
Occasionally, even today, you come across certain people who seem to possess an impressive inner cohesion. They are not leading fragmented, scattershot lives. They have achieved inner integration . They are calm, settled, rooted. They are not blown off course by storms. They don't crumble in adversity. Their minds are consistent and their hearts are dependable. Their virtues are not the blooming virtues you see in smart college students; they are the ripening virtues you see in people who have lived a little and learned from joy and pain.
"The Road to Character" p. xiv
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