The Wednesday Word 10.26.2022

 

Galatians 5:22-26 New Living Translation

22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

Love and joy were the hallmarks of my mother’s life. Not even metastasized breast cancer could destroy them. As I said in her eulogy, that may have been the cause of her death, but it could not diminish the joy she had found. She was a poet, an amazing cook, a gift-giver extraordinaire, and above all else, a compassionate and generous soul. Meanness or dishonesty was abominable to her, but she was forgiving. She loved any and everyone who needed to be loved, especially the underdog. I can say without hesitation that the work of the Holy Spirit was evident in her life. I try to follow her example.

The daily practice of following Christ is essentially quite simple: love, trust, and obey. It is the actual doing it that we make so complicated. Not only did he die to mitigate and redeem our inability to follow through on God’s commands, he sent the Holy Spirit to help us on a one-to-one basis. God will still be God regardless of whether we follow or not. The difference is the kind of life we get to live out. The benefit is a life awash in joy and love. The very least we can do in light of this incredible grace and mercy is to keep trying…something to pray about.

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.


                                                                                                        photo by Ben White
                                                                                        

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