Fresh Fruit: Love

Fresh Fruit: Love

Bible Blast: Read Mark 12:28-31

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23

Let’s say you’re a big fan of the artist Pablo Picasso. You tell people that you love absolutely everything about Picasso. You rave about him and tell everyone they should love him too. But . . . you hate his artwork and criticize it all the time. How can you say you love “absolutely everything” about him, but you hate what he’s created?

It’s the same with God. If you truly love him, then you will also love the people he’s created, including yourself.

The first fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is love, and I can see why it’s first. The fruit of love is the key to all the others. In Mark 12:28-31, a teacher asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answered, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’” Then he told the man, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And in 1 Corinthians 13:13, it says, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

Above everything else, God wants us to display love. If we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we’re giving him absolutely everything, holding back nothing.

Directly connected to our love for God is our love for others. Look at 1 John 4:20-21: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.”

If we’re fans of God, we’ve also got to love his artwork—people! So the next time you’re tempted to say, “Oh, I hate her!” or “I just can’t stand that girl,” you may want to consider the Artist you’re criticizing.

Girl Gab: Daughter, who do you think Jesus is talking about when he says, “Love your neighbor”? Who is your neighbor? Are neighbors just the people who live next door? Mom, tell your daughter what you think it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.”