Get Real

My mother-in-law sent us an email this morning that blew my socks off. Well, actually, I'm wearing flip-flops but you get my point.  She said, "The fruit of the Spirit is not to make us look good, but to make the Father look good." You mean its not about us?  But wait a minute, I go to church and prayer meeting and eat tofu... Doesn't that count?

So often we get wrapped up in our human-DOing instead of  human-BEing, that we forget the essentials to abundant living.  After Elijah got busy on Mt. Carmel, God visited his zealous friend in a cave. God did not come in the wind, earthquake or fire but in a still small voice. This gentle approach astonished the prophet for after all, he had just hacked 450 heathens to death for idolatry. No wonder he was depressed.  Fighting fire with fire has never worked but sharing the fruit at God's table certainly does. When do you think this truth hit Elijah like a ton of bricks and  wouldn't you  have loved to have been there to share in his joy?

When we demonstrate  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, we cannot but help make an impact on those around us.  We can get pretty puffed up, even to the point of thinking its our hand that ultimately made the difference. Newsflash! The fruits  of the Spirit are not about dolling us up or creating super-fly-sugarcoated personalities - no way. God wants us to be real - like Him.  Jesus addressed this authenticity in Matthew 5:48, "Therefore you shall be perfect as my father in heaven is perfect."  God himself invented this natural principle we call the fruits of the Spirit  and he knows that we must first be true  (perfect) to ourselves in order to be true to Him and others. We are loving,kind and compassionate because he was loving, kind and compassionate with us first (1 John 4:19).

When we are ignited with the desire to make God look good, even our own egos bow in submission. Our circle of influence blossoms then explodes with endless possibilities on how to grow the kingdom right here and right now.  Growing the kingdom means meeting a basic need like giving someone a hot meal or clothing. Their hearts are melted and they take notice. This act of kindness says,"I don't want you to be cold or hungry," and that translates easily in all languages. Its the language of love!  Or maybe, you meet an emotional need with a friend over lattes to just be an active and empathic ear for them to vent their anger or sadness.   However we do it, when we do it, over time those we influence begin to do the math that goes something like this:  "Jim is kind and caring.  Jim is a Christian. If Jim's God is half as loving as Jim - I want to meet Him!"

There are countless and wonderfully spontaneous ways to share God  and bible-thumping  is not one of them.  People are interested in knowing their sheer existence matters so when we deliver a holiday meal to a needy family or host an orphan overseas, God is using us to then free that mind up for creative pondering instead of where the next meal is coming from.  Furthermore, that person can then begin searching for reasons behind their existence like where they came from, why they are here and where they will go after death.

I'd like to think this is precisely when God entwines individuals who are ripe with questions and long for answers. One day someone asks us where we derive our strength and resilience in times of chaos. So maybe we share a favorite song, movie or even a bible verse that inspired us  But  truly, nothing compares to the moment we share the someone who changed us from the inside out - Jesus Christ!  In the  moment we verbally express how God gave us beauty for ashes, joy for weeping and wrapped us in the garment of praise when we were most stressed - we are allowing another human being the chance to see the hope that is within us. And this hope we have, well, its not a fairytale nor is it half-baked superstition.  This hope of a loving God who accepts us for who we are and as we are, is real.  How do we know? Because we experienced it first-hand.  But aren't the fruits of the Spirit about  proving God exists?  Its not about proving but rather about taking the love we've been given and paying it forward.  In the end the recipients of our love will make up their own minds and in their own time.

Meanwhile, we have an entire world to practice on beginning with our families and dearest friends.  Mom was right, the fruit of the Spirit is not about making us look good, no way. It really is all about Him.

-S.N. Belmonte 2009