The Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” ∼Galatians 5:22-26∼

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we find that our desire to please Him increases as we grow closer and closer to Him. We are not perfect, by nature, but we can grow towards perfection by allowing the Lord to transform our lives on a daily basis. We must always take the first step in this direction. I can think of many faults I have to work on and I wish I didn’t have them. I also know that through my imperfection, I am made more perfect according to His purposes (2 Corinthians 12:9). The Lord wants to use our weaknesses to develop our character and deepens our relationship with Him.

A group of us went on a DTQ missions trip to Kingston, Jamaica recently. The theme of the week was the fruit of the Spirit. Even though we were going to Jamaica to minister and develop relationship with the students from Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD), I knew that God was also going to work on our lives as well. And sure enough, God started early! After receiving our boarding tickets, we went to the baggage drop off line. The lines seemed cluttered and it is easy to cut people off. Our group was standing in line and about 15 minutes later someone had cut us off! I was stirred by anger and I felt like I was going to pick up a fight with the lady. We were neck-to-neck for the next 30 minutes or so competing to beat each other to the check-in counter. Deep down inside I knew my attitude and motives were wrong. “But, it’s not fair! I was there first!” I replied back to myself. I was being stubborn and rebellious. The teens going on this trip saw that and were discussing how unfair this lady was being to us. There was a warfare going on inside of me. Finally, another leader told me, “Why don’t you just let this lady go. It’s not worth it.” This leader was with me side by side in competing with the lady. “I know it,” I said. I backed off and let the lady go. The Lord was teaching me how to be patient and be in self-control. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do.

Another lesson that I learned is the power of love. It’s amazing when you are willing to invest your time and energy in developing relationships with others; you begin to see the difference being made. I’m not boasting about this topic, but we (DTQ) have been told by CCCD how the students have been affected due to our time, energy, and relationship we invested in one week of their lives. They have never experience this type of relational ministry compared to other ministries that have come to their school. There was a young mature girl whose brother was recently killed by a gang member a few weeks prior to our visit. She’s the only Christian in her family and she was devastated! We invited her to join in our devotional time one evening. I shared a short message regarding running the race for the prize that lasts (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). I used this comparison as to preparing and running in a marathon. It was a perfect comparison. And it impacted this young girl so much that she realized that she should not give up in the race that she’s running for Jesus. Since her brother’s death, she has been in the valley of depression and lost hope. That message was for her and a smile formed on her face, not only that evening, but the rest of that week. This is the power of obedience and love. Other students at the school felt so connected to our team and was literally running across school campus and climbed the fence as we rolled away in the bus to the airport. Lives have been impacted due to Christ’s genuine love!

The mission trip to Jamaica was an awesome experience. It is truly humbling to be a part of a different culture and a different environment. It doesn’t matter how rich or poor we may be, because if we strive to be more like Christ, we will be satisfied in any situation. Love is a powerful thing. If you have never experienced an international mission trip, I would deeply encourage you to do so. Our teens within the DTQ ministry has been impacted and they realized something about themselves that is truly humbling. What area in the fruit of the Spirit do you need to work on?