I have become deeply convicted that our one purpose as Christians is to grow in love, both for God and for others. However, you can pray for an hour every morning, work your way through the Bible in a year every year, have ‘quiet time’ every day, and still not be a loving person. Heck, we probably all know people like that or might be like that ourselves (eek! sorry). So, how does one become more loving?

Well, I haven’t figured it all out yet (shock). I do have some thoughts though, stay with me a minute…

Before Jesus came to earth, the people of God believed they had to meet with God in a temple (but did they?). When Jesus died, the temple curtain that housed the presence of God (or did it?) was torn in two, from top to bottom, according to Matthew’s gospel. This giant, heavy curtain was torn apart, symbolising the fact that we can now be freely reconciled to God the Father because of what Jesus did on the cross. Amazing stuff. But there’s more. Jesus rose from the dead and spent time with folks on earth, eating and talking with them. “Yay”, they thought, “He’s finally going to kill all those pesky Romans!” but nope. He then said he was leaving again. Wait what?! You just died, rose again, and now you’re leaving? That’s not part of the plan. But it was part of God’s plan.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you realise that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”

Jesus ascended into heaven so that the Spirit of God could come to dwell in all believers. You and me. We have God’s Spirit living in us. Let that sink in a second. Everywhere we go, whoever we come into contact with, they are meeting God, in us. We bear God’s name. We are children of God. This is good news. It means that our very words and thoughts can be from God.

Then why does the Spirit in us often feel like a stranger? Or at most, a distant friend? How do we “keep in step with the Spirit” and get to know His presence in us better? Well, I believe by not filling our lives with stuff that distracts us (sometimes very good, Christian stuff!).

Lately, I have been trying hard to eliminate distractions from my life, so that I might be more aware of His presence in me, at all times. This is exceptionally difficult in the world we live in. Take my phone for instance, I have a love-hate relationship with the thing. I love what it can do but I hate how much time I spend on it (classic millennial, yes). The first thing I used to do in the morning was pick it up and mind-numbingly scroll through news, socials, etc. I have put a stop to this, which did help for some time. I felt lighter and freer.

But I’ve realised, even with that one thing gone, there’s still something inside me that wants to distract myself by any means necessary; it’s like a deep sickness in my heart that needs rooting out. The phone was just a fruit of this root. So, maybe I’ve been approaching this all wrong, and changing external things doesn’t necessarily lead to internal change…

I have to make good choices to bear fruit. This is a fact. But I cannot control what fruit I grow. That’s God’s job. A tree cannot decide to grow fruit through its own efforts. It will not produce better fruit  simply by concentrating hard and willing fruit to grow. Instead, the tree simply has to root itself in good soil and fresh water… and fruit will grow naturally.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22-23 

Reflect

What are you rooted in?

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 18: ​“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Go Deeper:

Spend 2 minutes in silence. Switch off your phone. Light a candle if you want something to focus on. Ask God to make you aware of his Spirit in you.

Categories: Equipping

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