Roller-Coaster Christianity

 

By Andrea Merrell

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Galatians 5:22 NLT

 

Those who live in the South understand dealing with roller-coaster weather. It might be 85 degrees one day and 35 degrees the next. One day you’re in shorts and sandals and the next in jackets and snow boots. Southerners learn to layer because we never know what to expect from one day to the next—regardless of weather reports.

Funny how some people are the same. One day they’re sporting a bright, sunny disposition and the next they’re coming at you with hurricane-force words and attitudes. When we’re around them, we never know what to expect from one minute to the next. And layers don’t help. Maybe they should have someone issuing weather reports on their frame of mind.

As believers, we need to learn to layer—our thoughts, words, and actions with God’s Word. A good place to start is with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. It all begins with love. According to the Open Bible:

The Fruit of the Spirit is love, and it is manifested in joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

·       Joy is love’s strength.

·       Peace is love’s security.

·       Long-suffering is love’s patience.

·       Gentleness is love’s conduct.

·       Goodness is love’s character.

·       Faith is love’s confidence.

·       Meekness is love’s humility.

·       Temperance is love’s victory.

Instead of riding the emotional roller coaster, let’s plant ourselves deep in the soil of God’s Word so we can produce love—God’s love—and all of its wonderful characteristics.

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash