The Fruit of the Spirit (June 19)
Submitted by Ford Prefect on 2002-06-21 22:00:26, Friday
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Daily Meditation: June 19 by Henri Nouwen; from Bread for the Journey, Harper Collins, New York, 1997 The Fruit of the Spirit How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us? Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God. This idea can make us very self-conscious. We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God's presence in their lives. But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions. The way God's Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). These fruits speak for themselves. It is therefore always better to raise the question "How can I grow in the Spirit?" than the question "How can I make others believe in the Spirit?" www.nouwen.net |
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