Can you believe it? Our first day together, and the topic that comes up for discussion in our homework is sex. Now that's getting personal! I think I'll take Beth's lead and not open that subject up for discussion just yet (maybe we'll come back to it when we get to know each other better), but what an important aspect of love this is. Sexual love is personal--about as personal as you can get; it echoes the emotional, physical, and spiritual nakedness Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden, with no barriers to intimacy, no shame to separate husband and wife. It also echoes the loving connection God forges between himself and his beloved bride, the church. So sex is a beautiful and wonderful thing, a gift from God, and as such is certainly an area of life that can be touched by the Holy Spirit or withheld from his influence. The questions related to eros love that I'm pondering today are, "What would this area of my life look like if I surrendered it totally to the Spirit? How would my behavior be different? How would my feelings be different? How am I reserving control for myself? How am I hiding? How am I practicing trust and faith in God in this area? How can I step out in even greater trust?" Big questions, I know--worthy of some prayer time or journal time. And, yes, discussion time, too, but for now I'll leave that between you, your husbands, and God.
Instead, let's chat a bit. We're getting ready to learn more about all of the specific parts of the fruit of the spirit. This week it's love; next week is joy. Isn't it so fantastic that God gives us such good gifts? I love what Beth said in the workbook about Jesus being the best illustration we have of a "fruitful" human being. And although we often get negative and focus only on what we don't have, one thing we do have is the Spirit of Christ within us. His spirit lives in us, and his spirit ACTS--it creates, influences, guides, corrects, teaches, and grows us up into ripe, luscious fruits. So let's take a look at the work of the Spirit in our lives and get to know each other a bit better, too. I'd like you to reply to this post with a quick comment introducing yourself (you don't have to give your full name if you'd prefer not to; screen names, nicknames or first names are fine) and then sharing which aspect of the fruit of the Spirit you believe is most evident when you look at your own life and which aspect you'd like to see more of. In case you've forgotten, the nine aspects are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Don't tell anyone, but I had to check to make sure I got them in the right order--I'd better keep practicing that memory verse!)
I'll start. Check the comments for my intro, most evident aspect of the Spirit's work in my life (in my opinion), and the aspect I'd like to see more of.
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3 comments:
Hi. I'm Rachel. My family moved here from Nebraska five years ago. My husband and I have six kids, two of whom have flown the nest and are in college back in Nebraska. I enjoy hiking and reading. I work sporadically as a substitute teacher at Zion and also teach online writing classes to homeschooled kids.
My most-evident Spirit fruit is, I think, peace. I do get riled up about some things, but I'm not much of a worrier down deep inside.
The one I would desperately love more of is gentleness.
Who's next?
While Monday's topic was interesting, Tuesday's on friendship was also a mind bender. Many relationships I have had can be categorized all over the map like these scriptures taught us. However, what I came away with, was that I drove them there because I didn't follow God's teachings. And I'm not really good at expressing love. Any kind of love, romantic or friendly. Must be the strict German upbringing I had. Anyway, to answer your question about which trait of the fruit I think I do well with, it would be patience. I've had to practice it all my life. The one I wish I had more of was, well, honestly, all of them.
I would like to know what everyone answered the "orange" question on page 57. I wasn't sure the direction to take it, but I answered to bring us closer to God and His word. By doing so, we may be better able to have the kind of love and relationship which He created us for. He is the middle rope in the braid. I need to remember that.
While Monday's topic was interesting, Tuesday's on friendship was also a mind bender.
Yes, it seems like every day in the Word opens up new challenges and things to think about, doesn't it?
Many relationships I have had can be categorized all over the map like these scriptures taught us. However, what I came away with, was that I drove them there because I didn't follow God's teachings. And I'm not really good at expressing love. Any kind of love, romantic or friendly. Must be the strict German upbringing I had.
I came away with that same feeling of "Ugh, I'm not any good at this love stuff!" That conviction is definitely the work of the Spirit, so in a way it's a comfort to see my shortcomings since it shows God is active in my life, but sometimes I forget what to do next: confess the sins, receive forgiveness and let the Spirit lead into something better!
I would like to know what everyone answered the "orange" question on page 57. I wasn't sure the direction to take it, but I answered to bring us closer to God and His word. By doing so, we may be better able to have the kind of love and relationship which He created us for. He is the middle rope in the braid. I need to remember that.
I agree that there were several possible directions, and I really like what you said about Christ being the middle rope of the braid; when he's part of our human-to-human relationships, it makes a difference. That's kind of what I put for that question; since, in Christ, believers become "blood relatives", his love in us should inspire us to love fellow believers in an especially active way, not as though they were strangers, but as though they're beloved brothers and sisters.
Thanks for responding!
Rachel
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