Praise God for His faithfulness to us! The Lord has been good to us during each day of the past week and we are extremely happy to bask in the shadow of His steadfast love and compassion as we spent time at the throne of Grace where God is seated. Again, in this new week, the Lord has blessed us with a very demanding Scripture passage for our meditation, which is Galatians 5:22-26. Reading, studying, and meditating upon the Word of God will strengthen a believer’s relationship with the Lord God Almighty and for any devout follower of Jesus Christ this meditation is more desirable than anything else in their life (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 11:18-20; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:15-16, 47-48, 105; Proverbs 3:1-2; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:3). It is said that we must recite God’s Word in the morning as we get up from the bed as well as before we go to bed or when we are on the bed at night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2-3). Moses wrote about the importance of paying attention to the Word of God:

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them (Deuteronomy 28:13-14)

While teaching His disciples, Jesus mentioned the importance of paying attention to the Word of God: Jesus replied, Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14:23). Again, Jesus said: Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Luke 11:28). James, the brother of Jesus, urged the early Christians saying Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22). Thus, reading, meditating, and obeying the Word of God is very important in our life, as the followers of Jesus Christ, and it will definitely strengthen our inner being and inspire us with new missional tasks and responsibilities to be carried out. When Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy, he mentioned why the Word of God is important to us and for what the purpose of the Word of God is. As per Paul’s writing, the Word of God is important to us because all Scripture is God-breathed and used to train and prepare people for God’s ministry, as it is written: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We are called to be ministers in the Kingdom of God (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:2). We are called by God (Isaiah 6:8; Acts 2:39; 1 Corinthians 7:17), sanctified by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:14; 2 Peter 1:3) and sent out by Jesus for God’s ministry (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 10:1; John 17:18-21; Acts 1:8). At least some of us can testify that we could literally feel His presence and hear His whispers in our ears as we carry out the ministry that is entrusted to us! His love and compassion never fails as Prophet Jeremiah prophetically uttered that Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lam 3:22-23). In fact, when we spend time at the throne of Grace where God is seated, we are spiritually reenergized and revamp ourselves. There is no one, but God, who could either strengthen us or comfort us. For God is the source of all our comforts and He is the one who comforts us in all our troubles, as Apostle Paul stated Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). As the beneficiaries of God’s comfort and compassion, we are called and commissioned to guide and lead people (who are not yet been saved) to Jesus Christ and make them also beneficiaries of God’s comfort and compassion, and, they, in turn, will do the same with others, and, ultimately, everyone will be beneficiaries of God’s comfort and compassion. It doesn’t matter ‘where we live’ and ‘when we live,’ what does it matter is ‘how we live’ and ‘what we do to live.’ Whether we build or break our life, or whether we gain or lose in our lives, we need to fulfill the purpose of God in our lives and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. And as Christians we cannot ignore the reality that we are foreigners and strangers in this world (Genesis 23:4; 1 Chronicles 29:15;  Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11; 4:12-16). As a result, we live our lives filled with heavy loads of pains, sufferings, and uncertainties. Even in the midst of such life-situations, we need to bear the mark of Jesus in our life (Ephesians 1:13-14), which means, we need to live a life that glorifies God through Jesus Christ. Thus …

• • we need to live a life that is worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1-3)
  • we need to live a life that is pleasing to God (Colossians 1:10)
  • we need to live a life that bear fruits for the Kingdom of God (John 15:8)
  • we need to live a life without any blemish or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27
  • we need to submit fully to the perfect will of God (Romans 12:2)
  • we need to present our bodies as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1a)
  • we need to set apart our life holy and sanctified (Romans 12:1b)
  • we need to present ourselves acceptable to God (Romans 12:1c)

As children of God, especially as those serving as the ministers of God, we must be blessed with the fruit of the Spirit in our life in order to make a godly and meaningful impact on those around us during our (earthly) spiritual pilgrimage. The fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5:22-23a, include: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Apostle Paul compares and contrasts the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23a). The acts of the flesh, according to Galatians 5:19-21a, are: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. Apostle Paul also warned his readers that those who live according to the desire of the acts of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21b). Apostle Paul urged his readers, especially the devout followers of Jesus Christ, not to gratify the desires of the flesh rather walk by the Spirit:

16 So I [Paul] say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. 17 They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:16-18)

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God … 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live (Romans 8:6-8, 13)

It is not only Apostle Paul who placed an emphasis on both comprehensive righteous deeds and widespread sinful deeds, in addition to the specific righteous deeds (deeds that are derived from the fruit of the Spirit) and specific sinful deeds (deeds that are derived from the acts of the flesh), all the apostles emphasized these matters. For instance, Apostle John also dealt with such matters, especially with regard to the deeds emerging from the fruit of the Spirit as well as the deeds emerging from the acts of the flesh, as he wrote to the early Christians:

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17)

As the children of God and the followers of Jesus Christ, we must bear fruit and, definitely, the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (John 15:8). The mark that distinguishes one to be identified as the disciple of Jesus is the fruit that he/she bears.  The fruit that the Holy Spirit enables us to bear include love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Anyone who walks by the Spirit will be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit, some of which are specifically mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23a, but those who are not walking by the Spirit will be practicing the acts of the flesh, some of which are specifically noted in Galatians 5:19-21. The people who bear the fruit of the Spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God, but those who have instinct to practice the acts of the flesh in their life will not be able to inherit the kingdom of God. Apostle Paul stated that Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (Galatians 5:24-26). Here, Apostle Paul exhorts the believers in Galatia (as well as the believers who live in the present generation) to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires because the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. As he mentioned, we must walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want (Galatians 5:16-17). As devout followers of Jesus Christ, we must be able to identify the desires of the flesh that we leaned on and crucify them. We should not allow the desires of the flesh to continue to take root in our life because it will make us spiritually dull and weaken our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we abide in the Lord Christ Jesus (John 15:1-8), our life in every sense (that is, emotional, social, physical, spiritual and the like) will be rooted in the Lord and the fruit we bear naturally will be the fruit of the Spirit. If a believer (including you and me) is unable to bear the fruit of the Spirit as a result of their walk with Jesus, then there might be something wrong in their daily walk with Jesus. Apostle Paul who targeted and persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ before he became a follower of Jesus Christ became the target of persecution after he became the follower of Jesus Christ because he became like those he targeted and persecuted once. In fact, he boasted about his religion (Judaism) and harassed the followers of Jesus Christ. When he learned how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ for him (Ephesians 3:18), he testified that May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14). Let us see some of the most important spiritual factors that we learned from the passage we have chosen for our meditation (Galatians 5:22-26), which ultimately will strengthen our spiritual life as well as our walk with Jesus on a daily basis. Apostle Paul urges the believers of all generations that:

1. 1. 1. all those who belong to Christ Jesus ought to bear the fruit of the Spirit in and through their life (5:22-23)
      2. all those who belong to Christ Jesus ought to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (5:24)
      3. all those who belong to Christ Jesus ought to live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit (5:25), and
      4. all those who belong to Christ Jesus ought not to become conceited, and not provoke and envy each other (5:26).

As we conclude this week’s meditation, let us try our best to live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Meaning, in our spiritual journey, let us keep walking by the Spirit. If so, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16), rather we will be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit guarantees our inheritance until we are redeemed by our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, as Paul mentioned to the believers in Ephesus: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14). May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!