Walking the Walk
Galatians 5:16, 22-25
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit,.. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
For historical context, this epistle was written by the Apostle Paul around AD 48-49 to the church of the Galatians, and the text is surrounded by warnings about types of sins to avoid. I suppose that the Galatians, like all of us, dealt with the works of the flesh. These fruits listed above are guidance for the Christian walk. Walking in the Spirit is an experience, but some of these gifts are implemented when needed. The gift we dread is longsuffering, or being slow to anger, which is not always easy to walk in, especially when you know that someone is pushing your buttons just for the sake of it.
Years ago, I was working offshore in the Gulf of America. On this particular job, I worked on a tugboat for a few days. For some reason, the company I was working for would always announce in one way or another that I was a Christian; I don’t know why. It seemed kind of demonic to me. Since they had made the announcement, there was an older deckhand, possibly in his late forties. He started making comments towards me. This went on for a couple of days. As I was walking alongside the side deck next to the wheelhouse, the deckhand was atop the wheelhouse mopping, and he intentionally sloshed water on top of me. I saw him change direction, and there was no doubt that he was provoking me. I knew what he was doing, and I replied something to the effect, “Come on, let’s be a little bit more careful.” Nothing mean or angry; he had been trying to push my buttons. I didn’t know why, but we had work to do, so worrying about his issues wasn't my main concern.
A day or two later, in the galley, the crew brought up the topic of being or getting mad. When the subject came up, I told them it took a lot to make me angry. The deckhand replied, "That’s for sure.” It was then that I realized that he was trying to get to me because I was a Christian and that he wanted me to blow up at him so that for the rest of his life he could have something to say about the Christian who got angry, and we all know he would have never told what he done to provoke me. He seemed to leave me alone afterwards.
My point is in this case longsuffering was something I had to work for; it was a conscious effort not to get angry. Notice longsuffering proceeds meekness, & temperance meekness means strength under control, and temperance is self-control. Before meekness and temperance comes love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, & faith, the qualities that help us operate with longsuffering, meekness, & temperance.
In a way, we need to “double up” on these first qualities so that the latter fruits can be exercised. Let the Holy Spirit teach you through the reading of your Bible, and allow Him to cultivate these qualities in your life.
He is: Jehovah Shalom
Lord of Peace
Blessings
