Doing Joy? Doing Peace?

"...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control..."

I am an action-oriented guy. So, why haven't I realized that each of these words are not just descriptions of things you possess? They are things you DO!

I guess I've always seen the list (whether you see the fruit of the Spirit as 9 different items, or as LOVE: followed by 8 specific characteristics of LOVE) as things given to describing followers of Jesus. Today, however, I saw more.

I have patience, rather, having patience is something I do. The same can be said for each of the final six: to doing patience, we add doing kindness, doing good, doing faithful, doing gentle, doing self-control. Even doing love seems possible if you think of specific acts. But, can we do joy or do peace?

If I can show God's character (albeit in a glass dimly), by doing the other fruit, what of these two? What of Joy? What of Peace? I suppose then, in order to be consistent, that these things must somehow be of the same sort as the other 6 or 7. Therefore, it seems needful for me to learn how to do them, even when all of life conspires against the possibility (as it so often does). And this (by God's grace) is exactly what I shall endeavor to do.

Comments

Anonymous said…
May Jesus bless YOUR life!
Love,
MOM
March 3, 2011 at 8:41 AM
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