"For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light]. For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life. And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him]."---Ephesians 5:8-10(AMP)
"Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?"---2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (Message)
"A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature."---Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yesterday, I was reading up on the health benefits of fruit juice and the dangers of soda pop consumption. (Keep me lifted!) It got me to thinking about spiritual fruit and the holistic health benefits of it:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."---Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
The Word tells us that when we become children of Light, the Fruit of the Spirit should be evident in us. It also instructs us not to be in partnership with those who reject God; that light cannot be, as the Message Version puts it, "best friends" with dark. (I love that!)
Last year, a scripture that God gave me was Hosea 10:12 (NKJV):
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."
Last January, a woman told me that my scripture for 2008 would be Psalm 146:5 (NKJV):
"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."
Whew, when I tell you there has been a lot of cryin' goin' on....whew! Anyway, how amazing that six months in and a couple of weeks shy of another birthday, God would introduce me to Isaiah 32:16 (NKJV); a scripture that I have never seen before:
"...and righteousness remain in the fruitful field."---Isaiah 32:16
In the book, "The Wisdom and Ideas of Plato", there is a chapter entitled, "Who Are Your Friends?" I want to share an excerpt from it:
"The quality, or degree of a friendship, is proportional to the quality or degree of good, which unites the friends. We are only too familiar with the person who is friendly only for ulterior reasons, who makes friends only for what his "friends" can do for him. The quality of his friendship is as meager as the advantages that he can wheedle from his connections.
"In a true friendship, there is mutual affection, and regard, and the friend is loved for his own sake, not for any external advantages which may accrue from the friendship. Friendship is a virtue, and the virtues are ultimately one, namely the good; and the good is an end in itself, which is desired only for its sake."
Where am I going with this? In Ecclesiastes, 3:2 to be exact, it states that there is a time to plant and then there is a time to pluck what has been planted. As I am growing, evolving, maturing, "ripening" if you will in my relationship with the Lord, I see how important the Fruit of the Spirit---the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, are in my life. There comes a time when we must break up the fallow ground to prepare the soil, then there comes a time when we must allow "Fruit of the Spirit" seeds to be planted, and then there comes a time when we must wait for the seeds to germinate and grow.
BUT THEN THERE COMES A TIME FOR HARVEST.
Everyone talks about having "seasonal" relationships. As I was praying to God about the direction he is taking me in, one of the things that he told me was that I had to not only make sure I was growing in the Fruit of the Spirit---that I was someone who could be "squeezed" by others and they be blessed as a result, but that I also needed to surround myself with the same. Isaiah 32:16 doesn't just say that the righteous remain righteous. It says that they remain in a fruitful field.
Field: an expanse of open or cleared ground, esp. a piece of land suitable or used for pasture or tillage; an expanse of anything; a cultivated expanse of land, especially one devoted to a particular crop; a wide, unbroken expanse.
Can fruit survive around pestilence and weeds? No. Even the sweetest of fruit, without the proper support and surroundings, will eventually die---usually way before its time. Recently, I was praying about a friend of mine and God told me, "He is a fruit of your spirit." And (as always) God was right. Since knowing this person, he has consistently brought "goodness" and encouraged "self-control" in my life. No matter what the day, if I "squeeze" him, in some shape, form or fashion that is what comes out and my soul is always nourished because of it.
I have come to accept that is how I need to discern my intimate relationships from now on. If someone does not manifest a Fruit of the Spirit---no, if they cannot manifest a little bit of all of the characteristics (cause you did notice that "fruit" is not plural, right?); if I can't "squeeze" them and at least find a little joy, a little peace, a little kindness, or if being in their presence makes me feel like my fruit is being choked to death, then it's time to remove them from my personal and private space. Not because God doesn't have a plan for their lives because God loves all of his children, but because they are in a different season. Our soil, seeds and needs, at least for now, are not the same. They don't need to be rushed (I Corinthians 13:4) and I don't need to be spiritually stagnate.
So, what prompted me to write this particular devotional? Well, it seems like a lot of people in my world are growing and changing and wondering what to do about it all. Ecclesiastes 8:5 says that a wise man discerns time and judgment. When it comes to the transitions that you may be experiencing in your friendships/relationships, this message is a good thing to keep in mind.
Why? Because Matthew 18:19 tells us that if two people agree on earth concerning anything they ask it will be done by God. If, while growing in the Spirit, you find yourself breaking away from some people, it's because when it comes to receiving from the Lord, unity is vital. You cannot surround yourself with individuals who will, whether they realize it or not, encourage you to fight against what's best and what's best is wherever your spirit, the Spirit, of God is leading you.
So how do you know where the "fruit juice" is and where the "fruit-flavored soda pops" are?
Give 'em a little squeeze. If when you need their prayers, support, encouragement, insight, understanding, and/or resources they are not "faithful" to you; if they are not "longsuffering" (patient); if they are lacking in "gentleness"; if they don't respond in "love"; if they are always without "joy"; if you never feel at "peace" in their presence (where God is, peace is); if you can't remember the last time they said a "kind" word to you and did anything for your own "goodness'" sake; if good fruit (as a whole) doesn't come out, well, that sounds like "junk food for the soul" to me!
It's a funny thing about soda pop. It may taste good for a moment or two, but if you look closely at its content, you will discover that the flavoring is artificial (fake), there's hardly any substance and rarely does it ever leave you satisfied because it doesn't provide as much water for you as you need (4:13)! J
©Shellie R. Warren/2008
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 3