Love-Do You Have these Fruits?

 I am beginning a new series on the fruits of the spirit. I think that we have all learned about these when we were younger and we may even bypass how important having them is. 

I believe that having all of these fruits creates the healthiest and strongest spirit that we can ask for. 

It's like collecting all of the infinity stones. 

When we hold joy, patience, love, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, goodness, faithfulness, and peace we create the ideal vessel for God to use. 

You can do no wrong when you exercise all of these fruits in your faith walk. 

And because I am here to share the good news and to help each of us on this journey to destiny, I want to start this series. 

We'll get fruit every month starting from now until August. 

Our first fruit that we are taking a big bite of is:

Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash

In greek, this word translates into Agape. 

It means charitable; an intense feeling of deep affection. 

I consider this fruit to be the most powerful fruit of the bunch because it itself determines whether or not you will bite into the other fruits. 

Love is an action word. 

Its presence alone is strong enough to cause some kind of reaction. 

No one can experience it without God, because He himself is love.

Now, to take a bite of this fruit calls for vulnerability and the absence of pride.

To love, one must also be impartial.

Love is not its truest form if it is done halfway. 

Love also can not be given and roughly taken away. (1 Corinthians 13:5)

It says that Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

It also says that love can not be counted. (1 Corinthians 13:5)

My favorite act of love is that moment when God sent His only begotten son just for us. (John 3:16)

These are prime examples of how intense and unconditional love is. This is how love is supposed to still be.

I am not afraid to say that I struggle with the concept of love from time to time. 

I have no issue loving my friends or family or even others, but sometimes- and I think even some of you, may struggle when it comes to showing love to those who have done you wrong or persons that we mark as bad. 

I think in those times, that is where taking a bite of the fruit of love becomes a bit harder. 

What helps me overcome the harshness of it, is remembering that I am loved. 

Yes, that is a bit unorthodox to go by, but hear me out. 

Here I am, a person who fall short and messes up every other day. I do things that aren't right sometimes and I swear there are moments in my life where I know that God was supposed to cut me off, but He doesn't. 

Instead, He loves me. 

So, if I, a person who falls and do things I think are unforgivable, am still loved in the end, then I can share that same love with others. 

I can love those who speak evil against me. I can love those who don't speak to me. I can love those who did wrong in their lives. 

I can love those. 

Love is the fruit that keeps on growing. 

There is no size too big for love. 

Once it starts, it keeps going and going. 

So as we go into the New Year, let's practice this fruit called love!

Let's digest it and let it grow in us. 

Hate will only take you as far as what you can see, but Love will take you on forever!

~TheRay