Bearing Fruit: Love

Over the coming weeks, we're going to really lean in to the different aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, starting with love.
 
Let me begin with a disclaimer: this is a HUGE topic and I don't claim to know everything there is to know about love in the bible, but I will share what the Lord is teaching me about love as part of the fruit of the Spirit.

We've already talked about how fruit is a natural outcome when we intentionally cultivate time with the Lord in our lives. The point is not to just try to be more loving by our own willpower. Rather, we're going to look at what love looks like as the fruit of the Spirit begins to grow in your life.

The first thing that comes to mind on this topic is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. it does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Paul gives us a beautiful definition of love here. My biggest takeaway from this is that love is an action. It's not just a feeling. It takes intentionality on our part to step out of our comfort zone and deny the desires of our flesh.

Hold on a second, didn't we just talk about how these fruits aren't produced by our own power? Yes we did. And if you've ever tried to uphold this definition of love on your own, I'd guess you didn't get very far before you lost your patience or said something rude.

What I love about this definition of love is that it requires us to draw near to the Father who IS love. This definition isn't meant to be a to-do list. It's meant to be convict us and help us realize our need for God. We draw closer to Him so we may be filled with His love and then we find joy in putting it into action.

The love of God compels us to keep leaning in and walking in the fruit of the Spirit.

See how that works? Beautiful isn't it?

James takes us a step further with this wonderful promise:

"Come close to God, and God will come close to you..." - James 4:8

We can't bear the fruit of love without Love Himself, and He's not hard to get to! He promises in His Word that when we come close, He comes close too.

I don't think it's a mistake either that love is the first on the list. Back in 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about how love will always endure. Peter tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. If God Himself is love, no wonder it's the first characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit we're given.

As we deepen our relationship with the Lord, love will be the first of the fruit to become evident and the gateway by which the rest will come.