What the fruit of the Holy Spirit look like

With just two days left until Valentine's Day, I needed to find a gift for my husband, Peter. I picked up a few things from the store, and I realized I had to include a box of chocolates. In my home, a Valentine's celebration without chocolate is a Type 1 error- a major oversight. We love chocolate. I selected a heart-shaped box and decided to buy two different brands. That decision must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. I'm grateful I listened and followed through. 

Winter 2025 Table Talk

On Valentine's Day morning, I woke up to find a heart-shaped box on my side. Did Peter just take out the chocolate I bought? I wondered! Call us a predictably, boring, loving couple. We had bought each other the same box of chocolates. I quickly remembered that I had purchased two, so I gave him the other box. I was glad to have the second one. This thing called marriage. How did we end up getting each other the same gift? But it wasn't always like this at the early stage of our relationship. Oh, the many arguments we had over Valentine's gifts.

Peter, considering his background, felt that Valentine's Day is not a celebration Christians should engage in due to its potential to lead to sin and immorality. While I do recognize this aspect of Valentine's Day, I still believe that there should be a day carved out for romantic couples to celebrate the gift of love they share. As a devout single Pentecostal lady, I did not partake in the exchange of gifts on Valentine's Day as I was waiting for it to occur within my marriage. My expectations were quite high entering marriage. Error type 2 is marrying someone who doesn’t share this believe. How do I fix these divergent views?

 Due to these differing perspectives, I didn't receive a Valentine gift in the early years of our marriage, and I would feel unloved on those occasions. However, the Holy Spirit would remind me of the wonderful things I receive and other expressions of love from my husband. I can't imagine how people manage marriage without the Holy Spirit's guidance. The Holy Spirit, my friend, would remind me of how he encouraged you to study for your GRE, how he tidies up after you, and how you appreciate the way he packs your meals. During graduate school, life was so hectic that I would pack the kids' food and forget to pack mine. The Holy Spirit reminded me of those expressions of love beyond the flowers, chocolates, and cards.

Love is a choice

In my mind, I would decide that next year, I won't buy a gift. Friends, does it make sense to purchase a gift for someone who doesn't celebrate Valentine’s Day? In my stubborn, selfish, and self-centered thoughts, I would arrive on Valentine's Day with a gift just for myself. I love myself, I would think. But that didn't feel right. That didn't embody the true spirit of love. Despite loving myself, I still desired to be loved and treated specially on Valentine's Day. And once again, we return to the same conversation with the Holy Spirit. Eventually, I agree with the Holy Spirit. Love is a choice. Love is intentional. Love is systematic. While I can choose selfishness, I chose love. While I can choose hatred, I chose love. When self-idolatry is an alternative, I choose love. When discord rage, jealousy thrives, and dissension reigns, I opened the alternative door of love. Where ego is the enemy, I choose love. I changed my approach; I would get a gift for Peter and for myself. 

Love is a Strategy

The first time I embraced the concept of loving myself and others, Peter appeared with a gift on Valentine's Day. That was progress, a tangible result of my belief. Then the Holy Spirit whispered, reminding me that this is the fruit of Love. Enjoy it. Love is a strategy. Indeed, a successful one. Love is a formula. Love is the equation. Love is the variable. Love is the energy. Love is the fruit that manifests in the traits of the Holy Spirit's fruit. Without love, we cannot find joy or patience or peace. Peace with oneself and others stems from self-love and an understanding of others' flaws and inconsistencies. 

With love, we find joy! With joy, we draw from the well of salvation. Joy in the present and joy in what the future may bring. Joy in your achievements and in the achievements of others. Through love, we share joy with others and connect with their joy as if it were our own. With love, we genuinely engage and do good for others. Doing good for those who cannot repay you is a result of love. True goodness stems from God. Goodness is defined within the context of love. With love, we listen, we speak, and then we listen again. When we love, we are gentle. Love leads us to treat others with tender, thoughtful, intentional kindness. With love, we are patient. With love, we hold on, wait for others, and refrain from jumping to conclusions because our hearts are in the right place and our intentions are pure. The gift of Jesus embodies God's patience.

With love, we endure and persevere over time. Love enables us to bear the burdens of others. Love makes forbearance possible and forgiveness easier. Through love, we understand our own pain and relate to the struggles of others. Love fosters empathy. With love, we demonstrate kindness. We are not only recipients of kindness but also givers of it. 

Love is vulnerable

Vulnerability means being true to yourself around those who are genuine with you. Is love simple? Love is the most powerful emotion that can inspire action. Jesus stated that the greatest love is when someone sacrifices their life for others - John 15:13. We love God because He first loved us. We follow God because He serves our interests. Without love in your relationship with God, what remains? Even if heaven is not promised, we still love. Why is that? The love of God fills our hearts and overflows to others. With love, we surrender our will and express emotion. In the Garden of Eden, human said, not your will God, but mine. That led to the fall of man. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, not my will but your will be done God. That led to the salvation of mankind.

The fruit of the Spirit comes from yielding to the will of God as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit.

Love produces Influence

Love is the magic of influence. Through love, you plant the seed of salvation in people's hearts. With love you spread the Goodnews of salvation. Nothing looks good on God's brand like love. Jesus said, through this, everyone will know that you are my followers, if you love one another - John 13:35. Love is conditional. Love can be unconditional. Through love, you nurture that seed to grow. Through love, you allow others to express their gifts and fulfill their God-given purpose. Through love, you let others shine. Through love, you influence others. Through love, you build a connected community. Through love, you gain influence. Do everything with love and you will see success all around.

Love is Action

The fruit of the Spirit is the seed of love. Jesus said no love is greater than this, for a man to lay down his life for others. Jesus gave himself up. We love God because he loved us. We follow God because he serves our interests. Take love out of your relationship with God, what is left? Even if heaven is not in the promise, we still love. Why is that the case? Love of God, shed abroad in our hearts, overflowing to others.

Love has a sound, Love isn't Quiet

 I Corinthians 13 summarizes the attributes of love. 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. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love is fruit, Love is the Soil

In the parable of the Sower from Mathew 13, Jesus described four types of soil that yield fruits. A farmer went to sow his seed. Some landed on rocky places, some on thorny ground, some along the path and others on good soil. Love acts as the fertilizer that enriches your Christian life in all aspects. Love is the character that makes you bear abundant fruits. Love turns you into a profitable servant. Love is a key component for fruit production. The question that you ask is, how do we bear fruit of the Holy Spirit?

Let me stop here and answer that question in another content.

Winter Table Talk is an annual bible study organized by The How Platform during the Winter months that focuses on a topic. 2025 is the year of the Holy Spirit.

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