The Fruits: Joy
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 This fruit of life lived in the Spirit can feel illusive. As the scripture reminds us in Psalm 30, "Weeping may endure for a night." The Good Lord knows our lives frequently give us cause to weep: illness and financial upheaval, not to mention pandemic, unemployment, and the ominous drumbeat of division and anger that seems to afflict our politics, our families, and even our church in recent years. Worst of all is conflict in family. Still the psalm goes on, "… joy cometh in the morning." It took me a long time to realize that the joy in question wasn't some sort of surface happiness dependent on external realities of life. Joy comes from the depths, the river of grace running through the souls of those who live in the union with the Holy Spirit. It is the result of allowing the Gift