Cynthia Wier
Galatians 5:22-26  (NIV)
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.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Reflection:
Up until two years ago, we had an orange grove in our backyard.  We would welcome the delicate blossoms in the spring and watch as the oranges grew and became ripe. November was a special time of the fall when we would go and pluck the oranges off the trees. We would harvest several hundred beautiful pieces of fruit from our eight trees. Then we began bagging them up in little sacks to offer to our friends, family, and neighbors. It was a joy to distribute the fruit for them to eat one by one or squeeze into a sweet fresh juice.

Even more precious are the spiritual fruits. Paul lists them in these familiar verses in Galatians. Some are more easily cultivated. Others challenge us as we try to develop these gifts from God.  As I read through these nine qualities, I find myself linking each one to friends and family members that I could always look up to:

Love, that intense feeling we have for our families – our children, our parents, brothers and sisters, special friends. We are blessed to experience love throughout our lives. 

Joy – I find this in the giving and receiving.  Joy comes during the beauty of the Christmas season. When we sing the beloved hymns of Christ’s coming to earth and celebrate at family gatherings. 

Peace – And peace is a quiet time for looking out at my garden, reading a new book that I enjoy, gazing at the deep red of the sunset. Peace is defined as freedom from disturbance. 

Patience – Forbearance or patience is hard for many of us. I always think of my father as having this trait in relationship with all he met – certainly with his children.

Kindness and Goodness – To be kind is to care about others, to show compassion, to be considerate, to take the time to spend with others. Goodness shows itself in having respect for others, for putting others’ needs first, following the Ten Commandments.

Gentleness – I think of my friend’s mother. Soft spoken, mild mannered, taking a special interest in her children’s friends. 

Faithfulness – being true to one’s commitments, devotion, following through what we pledge to do. My great-aunt Mattie is always in my mind as I remember her character, her strong connection with God.

Self-control – ability to keep emotions on an even keel – can test the way we treat others – those we know and love.

Paul has given us an orange grove — nine words to live by. Verse 25 spells it out: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” I am sure we can all match these qualities with people who have loved us, helped us, taught us how to live like Jesus.

Prayer: 

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to strive to exhibit all the Fruit of the Spirit. I may not always succeed in showing my best in every way, but I can reach out to my family, friends and neighbors by helping those in need, listening to someone who may need encouragement, and learning to use these lessons that Paul has brought before me. I can practice these lessons of love from Galatians. Bring me a little closer to how Jesus would want me to behave. I ask for the love, joy, peace, the forbearance, kindness, goodness, and gentleness as I pray for others. And for faithfulness as I live by the Spirit. And surely that we maintain self-control in all that I do. I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Friday, May27

Pay the “Tall Tax”

Martha Hill Jamison, shorter beneficiary of the Tall Tax

Galatians 6: 1-5 (J. B. Phillips version)

Even if a man should be detected in some sin, my brothers, the spiritual ones among you should quietly set him back on the right path, not with any feeling of superiority but being yourselves on guard against temptation. Carry each other’s burdens and so live out the law of Christ.

If a man thinks he is “somebody”, he is deceiving himself, for that very thought proves that he is nobody. Let every man learn to assess properly the value of his own work and he can then be glad when he has done something worth doing without dependence on the approval of others. For every man must “shoulder his own pack”. 

Reflection:

My husband Bruce is tall. Every day. Early in our marriage, he didn’t realize what a blessing it is to move through life that way. Tall. But then, I assessed a “Tall Tax.” He must put dishes away on the top shelf. He must assist me (and all other short airline passengers) in putting my suitcase in the overhead bin. Bruce has taken the Tall Tax very seriously. He follows Paul’s admonition in Galatians 6 to “carry each other’s burdens” (often, literally). I love him for that.

Unsuspecting friends in our lives have been the inspiration for Tall Tax variations. Bruce once witnessed Ross holding the door open for someone who was really too far away from the entrance to count (Ross would have been forgiven for just letting the door swing shut). Since that day, Bruce has adopted Ross’s Rule and notices people even when they are really too far away. No one seems to mind being noticed.

My mother, in her last years, created an Index Card ministry. She didn’t get out much anymore, but she could still work the telephone. Her friends’ names and numbers were on separate Index Cards that she filed in a recipe box. She spent much of her days on the phone, but it was not idle talk. She touched base with friends and helped “carry their burdens,” in prayer and by staying in touch.

Paul’s admonition in the verses above reminds us to be quick to help others. In love. In so doing, we fulfill Jesus’s commandment to love one another.

Paul also urges each of us to “shoulder his own pack.” Although many translations use the same English word, “burden”, in these two verses, two different Greek words were used by Paul. The Galatians 6:2 burden (in bold above) refers to an extremely heavy load (see Matthew 20:12, “these last men have worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden”). The Galatians 6:5 burden (also in bold and translated here as a “pack”) refers to a normal load that a soldier or a day hiker might carry (see Matthew 11:30, “for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”).

Each of us carries certain non-delegable moral responsibilities and obligations, our “pack”. We also are responsible for the attitudes we adopt and the actions we take toward others. The short airline passenger has carried her pack through the terminal and onto the plane. It only became a burden when faced with the overhead bin. Mom’s friends carried their packs of advancing age and diminishing strength. She provided encouragement that allowed them to keep going.

Examine the talents you have been given. Look for opportunities to use them in love to support and encourage fellow believers. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Prayer: 

Dear Jesus: Help us to notice others who are carrying extremely heavy loads. Show us the ways you have  equipped us to help. Give us the courage to get involved where we are needed. Please, Lord, we want to be more like you. Amen.