Spiritual Fruit: Love

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. –Galatians‬ 5:22-23‬ NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Songs of all genres, from Country to Christian, are written about love. Everyone wants it, and no one can live without it. Galatians 5:22-23 lists characteristics that should be exemplified in our lives when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. It is no surprise that love is the first listed fruit of the Spirit. But what kind of love are we talking about? The first time we see love mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 22:2 (NIV) where God says, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Ahava is the Hebrew word for love in this passage. The root of this word is ahav, which means “to give.” Here, God gives us a glimpse, or foreshadow, of what His love gives us. He is asking us to take action with our love. We are to give our love to Him and to those around us, just as He gave us His love when He allowed His Son to die on the Cross for our sins. Loving those who already love us is easy. But how hard is it to love those who mistreat us? The Holy Spirit enables us to love, regardless of our opinion of another’s worthiness. We must ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with love for those around us, no matter if we feel they deserve it or not. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬