“The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5
This is the beginning of blogs concerning the fruit of the Spirit. The first of this “fruit salad” is LOVE. What does the word “LOVE” mean to you? Think about it. When you were growing up, was your household a LOVING environment? Did you feel LOVED and valued or did you feel you were never good enough to be LOVED? Read the verse below and think about your home as a kid and your home today.
“LOVE is patient, LOVE is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS perseveres. REPEAT…ALWAYS PERSEVERES. REPEAT…ALWAYS PERSEVERES! LOVE NEVER FAILS, NEVER FAILS, NEVER FAILS!!” I Cor. 13:4-8
We can’t do anything about our past and the hurts from it, but we sure can make our home today a place with this kind of LOVE. Look at the list of God’s ideal of LOVE and think about how you can make your home better for your sake and those in your family.
You may need to ask for forgiveness, change the way your family talks to each other, cut the chaos out, take parenting or marriage skills classes, go to a counselor or pastor. Make sure you talk with the Lord about it first though, and listen to what He puts in your mind, because He is the One who LOVES you most of all.
“LOVE the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37