Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5 v 22-23.
The first fruit is love. When it comes to love the most difficult thing must be to love others more than ourselves. Our sinful nature is to first think of what will be most comfortable and best for us. Even as children we fight to make sure no one gets a bigger piece of cake than we do.
The other aspect of love which is difficult is to love everyone around us. God never told us to like everyone, but we must love others as we love ourselves. Therefore we cannot be judgemental about who we are prepared to love and who not. Love is not CONDITIONAL. What would happen if God loved us conditionally?
Unconditional love is to love someone without any expectations. It is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and develop empathy for who they are. Loving people like this is not easy. It takes practise and constant prayer. We need to crucify our flesh when it comes to loving others. Then we will be able to ask a beggar how he ended up on the street, without wondering what others will think. May we love far beyond what we thought was possible through the grace we receive from our Father who loved us first.
Blessings
Brenda Myburgh
* Myburgh is a motivational speaker, facilitator, MC, director, writer, actress.
