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 Gifts of the Spirit to take root and grow. 

I have come to believe that joy is the most obvious sign of a Christian who walks in grace with God. You see it in their faces, you hear it in their voices, and you find it even when life is knocking them around. They radiate joy. In those times of anger and conflict, this joy is closely linked to peace which is closely linked to forgiveness, loving God's children as he loves them. Some people can manage it.

I'm struggling to learn to look for it in myself, and to note when it does not appear, so I can remind myself to pray and tap into the Spirit who just waits to be asked.



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