The Fruit of the Spirit

I've been reading Shane Claiborne's newest book, "Jesus For President" and it is working on me! Do you ever have books that do that? Last week when I had some time to really get into it I had one of those moments where I realized that the Spirit is trying to get my attention with this book and so I prayed that God would let the book do the work on me that it was supposed to do. Let me just say, the Spirit is following up on my request!!!!

Just one example:
At one point in the text, Claiborne relates a story about how he and a friend of his got beat-up in their neighborhood in Philly. During the beating, Claiborne proclaimed to the young men who were beating them that, "They (those attacking them) were created by God for something better than this. We are followers of Christ and we do not fight."

Really, that's pretty extraordinary given the power the redemptive myth of violence holds on our culture.

A few paragraphs later Claiborne talks about meditating on the fruit of the Spirit. And so, I decided that I would read and meditate, a lectio divina exercise, if you will, on the fruit of the Spirit every morning and every evening for at least a week. My specific goal in this is that the fruit of the Spirit will be manifested in myself in the way I treat others.

The discipline has been effective. I have found myself exhibiting a bit more self-control and gentleness in the way I interact with others. Certainly, I have experienced peace in a much more profound way. Yesterday after work I took some time to just hang out with my daughter and play in the backyard: it was peaceful and GLORIOUS! Honestly, it was the most peaceful hour I've had in weeks!

Just in case you would like to try this yourself, you can find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. The passage is as follows (from the NRSV):
"By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things."

Can you imagine what the world would look like if even just the self-professing Christians could exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in their everyday lives?

You might try praying for the Spirit to guide you as you read and pray these words. After your prayer, slowly read the Scripture out loud (if you like, you can read them to yourself). Wait in silence for a bit, allowing the words to penetrate you. Then, read them again, slowly. As a particular fruit or word jumps out at you, stop, ponder it in your heart and listen to what God is speaking to you. You can do this for as long as it is helpful to you. When you are done (and you'll know when it's time) give God thanks for your life and for the day and ask the Creator and the Spirit to help you exhibit these fruits in your life.