Forgiveness is foundational to the Christian life and yet, it is often misunderstood. This misunderstanding creates one of the greatest obstacles to cultivating love in our lives. Originally used as a financial term, to forgive means to cancel a debt, choosing not to collect it now or in the future. With the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), Jesus teaches us that we should forgive others because of the forgiveness we have received from God. To cultivate a life in which God yields love in and around us, we must be people for whom forgiveness is not only freely received, but freely given.

What is love? It’s a word we often use, but do we really know what it means? Although the ancient Greeks had several words for love, “agape” is the term that appears 259 times in the New Testament. This word refers to an unconditional, sacrificial kind of love that combines feeling and action. A classic definition of agape love is to will the good of the other; it means wanting what is best for another person and actually working for their good. This is much easier said than done! 

Like the other Fruit of the Spirit, we cannot force growth in this area, but we can cultivate a life with God that yields love in us and around us. If we are to grow in our ability to love, we must both know what love is and want to love. Then, through prayer and practice, we can become people for whom loving others becomes second nature.

When teaching about the Kingdom of God, Jesus often spoke in parables in order to cause people to reflect and think about his words. In this week’s sermon, we focus on Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Sower in which he uses the imagery of soil to describe the receptivity of the heart. In his desire to yield good things in us and around us (Fruit of the Spirit), God is constantly sowing seed within us. However, there are times when the seed bounces off of us (like the hard path), or our relationship with God lacks depth (the rocky ground), or the growth becomes choked out by the cares of the world (seed sown among thorns). In contrast, we seek to cultivate a life that bears fruit by softening, deepening, and pruning our soil. In turn, making our hearts more receptive to what God wants to grow in us.

As followers of Christ, we choose a life marked by the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). However, there is an ongoing battle within all of us between the flesh and the Spirit. When we are living by the flesh, we are being controlled by our most basic and selfish desires. We recognize that there are things that need to die in us and things that need to be birthed in us. We also feel the tension between what we can do and what only God can do. A life in the Spirit is not something that we can achieve on our own; it is something that we receive when we believe and trust in God. Through prayer and practice, we can cultivate a life with God where the Holy Spirit yields good things in us and around us.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Who doesn’t need more of these blessings in their lives? While we recognize that only God can grow us in these areas, it does require our participation. By keeping in step with the Spirit we cultivate a life that is conducive to producing and growing in the fruit of the Spirit. Although there are some things beyond our control, we all have a choice to make about the kind of life we want to live. As followers of Christ, we choose to cultivate a life with God where the Holy Spirit yields good in us and around us.