The best things in life
The best things in life, they say, are free. The best things in life are also legal. Paul lists nine of them, and calls them the fruit of the Spirit.
The new Christians in Galatia, to whom Paul is writing, are now under pressure to submit to the external observance of the Jewish law. Paul reminds them that Christ has redeemed them from the curse that belongs to the law, and urges them to stand fast in the freedom for which Christ has set them free.
Freedom - not simply to go their own way, indulging in attitudes and behaviour that Paul describes as 'the works of the sinful nature'. Indeed, the Spirit liberates us from the works of the sinful nature, and frees us to be what, in our best moments, we would really like to be.
Free to love, unconditionally and disinterestedly; Free to rejoice - in God's amazing creation, in humanity and in Christ's comprehensive redemption of it all; Free to rest in the deep peace of trust in God's faithfulness; Free to endure aggravation and persecution with patience; Free to be kind - to make time for the 'little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love'; Free to be good - to allow the Spirit to purge our lives of selfishness and hypocrisy; Free to be faithful and consistent in serving God and other people; Free to be gentle - to comfort and encourage those who are struggling, and to confront or challenge with grace; Free to control our passions, those tendencies that belong to the old nature from which Christ has liberated us.
What an offer! But to some of us this astonishing freedom may seem frightening, and we shrink back into legalism, where we can measure our spiritual performance by external observances - like NHS targets that can measure waiting lists but can do nothing to monitor quality of care.
There is no law governing the fruits of the Spirit. Rather, they release us - in our own contexts, according to our unique gifts and temperaments - to live life to the full.
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