Setting Your Own Table

Setting Your Own Table
^{22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. – Galatians 5:22-25}

The fruit of the Spirit is a blessing produced in our lives by the power of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23) are developed only as God brings them about. This is God’s work in us. Simply put, we could also think of it as the reproduction of the character of Christ within us. After all, if He is the Vine and we are the branches as He says, then, whatever made Him tick in terms of character must flow through us as extensions of Him as our source of life.

Does it just happen? Have we any contribution to make to the miracle of spiritual fruit being reproduced in our own lives? After all, to many professed Christians, the "fruit of the Spirit" seems elusive. They long for that tranquil inner man to come to life, and they realize that his absence is symptomatic of the fact that their Christian walk is not all that it could be or should be. Is there anything to be done?

It would be irresponsible and naive to suggest that we play no role at all in bringing these virtues into our own lives. If we choose to think of the fruit of the Spirit as a gift "served-up" to us by God through no contribution on our part, may we at least see ourselves as those responsible for setting the table?

It is up to the believer to bring single-mindedness to the table. "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (II Corinthian 11:3). Concentration is difficult because the mind is bombarded by so many distractions. It is the believer's responsibility to pay attention to Christ, His commands, His Person and His ways.

The believer must bring lowliness to the table. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:10). To balance the image of God as loving Father, we can never lose sight of Him as Awesome Creator. It is unwise to approach God in too cavalier a fashion. Those who encountered God most closely in the Bible almost always experience genuine godly terror in His presence. Those who "met" God were always "brought low" in an instance.

The believer must bring the desire to be pure to the table Come near to God and he will come near to you. "Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubleminded" (James 4:8). Our senses are assaulted with bad information and false promises. The tempter can lead our thoughts into unexplored realms. The most effective strength to overcome temptation begins with a preemptive choice like the one reflected in Psalm 101:3: "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes."

The believer must bring responsiveness to the table. "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands" (2 John 1:6). On occasion, God will violently open the mind of an unbeliever with a crow-bar, but that is not the norm for Christians who have already made a conscious choice as to Who holds "the words of life." A believer develops responsiveness to Christ by time in God's Word as well as with prayer for the wisdom to understand and the resolve to obey.

Bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit is God's task. He fills the hungry. Coming to grips with your own hunger and presenting yourself to God as the Giver of the Bread of life is pretty much your call.