Canatloupe

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

I love fruit, it is my favorite snack to enjoy. Just two days ago I cut open my first fresh cantaloupe, which in my opinion, tastes like candy. No sugar coating is necessary. Normally I would invest in the already cut up stuff that until a while ago didn't realize that there was a sugary syrup coated on them that kept them fresher for a while. Gross. Now, when I think about the fruit I love to eat (apples, cantaloupe, grapes), why would would I want second rate fruit?

The same goes for the fruits of the spirit. Why would we want second rate, sugar coated fruits of the spirit? Think about it. Let's say we are in a relationship with a guy or girl, and they only treat us with halfway decent love, yell at us for being stupid (impatience and self-control), or cheat on us on occasion? Personally, I would be sending that guy halfway around the world to learn how to treat me right. I would be running as fast as I could in the other direction. So, if we exert sugarcoated fruits of the spirit to others, aren't they going to notice? If anything, God will notice first. I personally don't want to give someone a basket of almost rotten fruit in a gift basket, I would want them to be pure and fresh. This is why we need to do the same for the fruits of the spirit. God sent His son Jesus Christ to pay the price of our sins, and He possessed all of the fruits of the spirit.
Now that I've preached to you, how do we do this? Your answers are as good as mine. The movie "Evan Almighty" comes to mind:
"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other."

Perfectly stated. These fruits of the spirit have to come from the heart, they have to be genuine, and they can't be sugarcoated. We are all given opportunities in our lives to exert all of these attributes. Just tonight, I caved in and went to a fast food restaurant for a cheeseburger and the girl working the drive-up counter was clearly in a bad mood. Instead of treating her the same way, I treated her with the same respect I would want (Hello, Golden Rule.). I don't know what she was thinking at that time, but I hope that she saw that I was different. I wasn't rude or bossy or demanding, I even apologized for not pulling up closer to the drive up thingy.

Let me clarify that I am far from perfect and I would be a hypocrite if I didn't practice what I preached. There are many times where I have been lacking one of the fruits. When something goes wrong, I tend to turn into a tall(er) three year old and throw temper tantrums. Then, I am reminded of self-control. When life seems awful and I can't stop worrying about what's going on in my life, I reach for peace. Let God worry for you, it's so much easier. I'm not faithful all the time. My language can flair up at any given second or when I'm trying to wait for something (in the most recent case, a study guide), then I need to remember patience. When I feel lonely living by myself, I remember that God loves me.

I came up with a goal for the next nine days. I am going to concentrate on one fruit of the spirit every day and see how God can teach me, and I'll try to keep tabs on how it's going. I'm ready for God to challenge me so I can grow stronger in Him. Sounds like a plan? I pray for perseverance and determination over the next nine days. Next Wednesday and Thursday I have midterms (icky). Please be praying for a clear mind to be able to study well and pure confidence that I can do anything through God who gives me strength.

And to think, this all started with cantaloupe. :)

Much love,
Kelsea