Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
We continue are reading of “A Woman’s Walk with God” by Elizabeth George. It is a study of the Fruit of the Spirit. Today we look at chapter two – “Looking to God for Love”.
The fruit of the Spirit is love. Galatians 5:22
Whenever I read about God calling women to something, I take notice.
Elizabeth George states “We can’t read very far in the New Testament without realizing that love is important to God. He calls us as women who love God…
• to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2)
• to love one another (John 15:12)
• to love our husbands and our children (Titus 2:4)
• to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39)
• to love our enemies (Luke 6:27)”
She then gives us five basic principles from God’s Word that can help us understand Christian love.
1. “Love is an act of the will. Every fruit of the Spirit requires decisions
2. Love is action – not just words. Love is something we do, not merely the words we say.
3. Love reaches out to the unlovely. It’s easy to love the lovely, but it’s much harder to love the unlovely.
4. We need God to help us love. Christ calls us to love our enemies by allowing God to love them through us when we can’t do it on our own.
5. Love expects nothing in return. We need to love without any thought of personal award. “
How is love defined? “God always defines biblical love in terms of self-sacrifice. It involves effort, not merely emotion. It demands action, not just feelings. It is something to do, not something we only feel or say.”
“How are you doing when it comes to loving sacrificially?”
How do we live out love? “It helps me as a Christian woman…to see my call to live out love as an assignment from God to love anyone and everyone He chooses to place in my path.” This is definitely not easy. That’s why we need to act on our will instead of our feelings making the decision to love.
“At times the love God fills me with in the morning seems bountiful and unlimited, and I can share His love until the sun goes down. But then come those days-those hard days!-when I seem to be beating a path back to God minute after minute. Maybe the task is harder, maybe the heart of the person I’m trying to love is harder, maybe my own heart is harder, or maybe I’m not spending enough time with Him to receive what I need to share…” Wow! Have you been there? I sure have. Some days are much easier than others to love those who cross my path. The author gave me some good thoughts about why it is harder to love. I need to make sure that my heart is not harder or that I am spending time with God to receive what I need. If the other person’s heart is harder or the task is harder, then I cannot control those things. I need to make sure that I am alright.
We see love lived out in the story of Ruth and her mother-in-law. Ruth left her homeland to return back to Naomi’s homeland. “Ruth sacrificed herself and allowed God to provide for Naomi through her.”
“One way we walk in love-God’s love-is to look to Him to fill us with His love…the kind of love that we’ve been learning is an act of the will, that takes action rather than being content with mere words, that extends itself to the unlovely, that gives for the sake of loving, and that involves the sacrifice of self.”
Here is a thought provoking question the author asks at the end of chapter two:
1. According to Luke 6:35, when you love the way Jesus tells you to love, what should you expect in return? And what can you ultimately expect?
Let’s prayer. Father, I thank You for filling me with Your love. Help me to love and serve the people You put in my path. Help me to recognize quickly when I am running low and need a fresh supply of Your love to share. Help me to always extend Your love to everyone. Thank You Father, for your help. We love and appreciate You. We declare that there is none like You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessings,
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