If you were to plant seeds that claim to be for an orange tree, you would expect this tree to produce oranges and not apples. If it does produce apples, you’ve got some problems! Likewise, if we have been given the Holy Spirit planted in us then we would expect our lives to reflect what has been given us. This is what Paul tells us in our passage today.

Identifying things that don’t reflect the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives isn’t particularly hard. We know when we have lived according to the sinful desires of our flesh. We know when we have perverted God’s design for our lives and while the list that Paul gives us isn’t exhaustive, it is pretty comprehensive. We have inherited our sinful nature from the original sin of Adam in the garden and if we continue like this, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. If we live our lives constantly in sin and not in line with the Spirit, then we are not worthy of entrance into the kingdom.

But what does a life lived in line with the Spirit look like? It looks like the fruit of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These qualities are what arise from killing off fleshly desires and living a life in step with the Spirit as people who belong to Christ. This isn’t about trying really hard to be joyful or trying really hard to be kind, however this is about rejecting those sinful things which our flesh craves and then investing our time in our relationship with the Lord. Having done these things, the fruit will naturally arise. MC

Questions

Where in your life are you vulnerable to capitulating to the sinful desires of your flesh? What is the antidote? What is the difference between ‘living in step with the Spirit’ and ‘trying harder?’

Prayer

Almighty God, give us the grace and willingness to crucify our desires and cut them off completely. We are sorry for when we haven’t lived according to your standards. Please forgive us. Bring forth in our lives the fruits of the Spirit so that we may live our lives as a testament to your mercy. In Jesus' Name, Amen.