The Subject Of Our Inquiry

               But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

                Yesterday, I mentioned these verses in my post. Today, it is the passage of the day on my Bible platform and I can’t think of another verse to discuss instead. It doesn’t help that I’ve discussed this passage at length in the past. So, when all else fails, go with the obvious. The singular fruit of the Spirit is all these virtues. No one consistently demonstrates all of them to their fullest degree except God, but there might be moments when we display one or another to a degree. Perhaps to a remarkable degree. Sometimes, we hear or get the impression that if someone does not epitomize all of the best of Christianity, that we are hypocrites or otherwise not really Christians. But that’s not the way it works any more than declaring oneself more than to be a physician means you’re ready to perform surgery.

                The problem for those in whom this fruit is supposed to be growing is the same problem I have whenever I get a puppy. I see her every day, many times per day, and most of the time, I don’t notice the changes until something suddenly catches my attention or someone who doesn’t see her every day points it out. The same is true with kids, I hear. It’s the time of year when my seedlings all seem to be tiny, and even once I get them planted outside, it’ll still seem as if they’re small. Suddenly, sometime during the summer, I’ll realize suddenly that something needs to be tied to a trellis, or has fruit on it.  

                We may not notice that we’re becoming more loving, joyous, peaceful, etc. We shouldn’t notice. Sometimes, we face a challenge that brings it to our attention. If we were conscious of it all, it would generate anxiety and arrogance in us. This doesn’t mean that when we have a choice between being loving and hateful, or between faithful and unfaithful, that we shouldn’t make a conscious decision. It means that if we feel a lack, we should talk to God about it, but also recognize that we may not have an objective view of ourselves.

                John Ortberg sometimes talks about people ruminating, generally about something that has happened to us. It’s not quite the same as the exam table I talk about, but there is a ruminating character to the exam table. We look at ourselves for evidence of whatever, so we’re ruminating about ourselves and what we’ve done. Instead, we could meditate on the fruit. Everything changes when the subject of inquiry stops being us and starts being the fruit.