Our focus for this week in Laura Story’s Bible study “I Give Up” has been two-fold.

• First, we looked at the “How” of surrender, in light of John 15. In simple terms, the key to developing a lifestyle of surrender is abiding in the Lord and allowing His life and power to flow through us. 
• Second, we looked at The Fruit of the Spirit, with a focus on the first fruit listed, love.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23NIV‬‬

The fruit of the Spirit was never intended to be seen as a list of goals for us to fulfill. That is a task that is guaranteed to end in failure. The fruit of the Spirit isn’t fruit we can produce in our own strength. No, it is the Holy Spirit through us who produces this fruit.

Fruit in our lives is determined by who or what controls our hearts. Galatians 5:16 makes this clear. It says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” But the opposite is also true. If you walk in the weakness of your flesh, you will gratify the desires of the flesh. That’s why we focused on abiding in Jesus, the true Vine, before looking at the fruit of the Spirit.

We demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit when we allow the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of Jesus, to flow through us to those around us. Galatians 4:6 says, “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts…” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, at work in our lives, conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ.

Author Jerry Bridges said, “The fruit of the Spirit is fundamentally relational. Rather than originating with us, it flows to us from our union with Christ, and it flows beyond us to bring us into fellowship with others. The secret of this flow – and our unity with God and others – is humility.”

The first fruit of the Spirit is love. Some have even said love IS the fruit of the Spirit and the other eight qualities are demonstrations of love. The English word for love has a very broad meaning. But the Greek word translated “love” in Galatians 5:22, “agape”, has a very precise meaning. This love is not a feeling but rather a choice. It is a godly love which comes directly from God. It is the very nature of God, an unconditional love that God has offered us freely and He wants to flow through us to others. It is a sacrificial love, as seen in God willingly offering His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins so we could be restored to relationship with Him.

As Christians, the fruit of the Spirit of love is demonstrated in two main ways. Both are commands, given by Jesus in Matthew 22: 37-39.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

First, we are called to love the Lord with our whole being. It’s easy to see this love as a demonstration of surrender. The apostle John wrote, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” 2 John‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The second command to love has to do with our “neighbor” – and Jesus made it clear in the parable of the Good Samaritan that a neighbor is anyone in need of our mercy (see Luke 10:25-37). Love for our “neighbor” is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

As you think about the fruit of love this week, I encourage you to ask yourself two questions:

1. Do I love God with my whole heart and soul and mind? If my answer is no, what or who do I love more than my Savior and Lord?
2. How does God want me to be a conduit of His love to those around me, starting with my own family? Is there something God is asking me to do to show His love to my “neighbor”?

As you answer these two questions, don’t lose sight of the underlying truth from this week. In our own strength, we will never be what God has called us to be or do what God has called us to do. Be sure you are attached to the true Vine, Jesus Christ, because that’s the only way we can love like He loves.