Must be love…

Galatians 5:22-23 TPT says, “But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.”

This week we will be talking about the first fruit of the Spirit; divine love in all its varied expressions. I love that the Bible says that! Love in all its varied expressions. Love is not a thought it is expressed through action. The greatest example of this is our Papa God. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” God loved, so He gave. He expressed His love by giving us Jesus Christ. What great love that is.

God giving us Jesus was as a result of His love for us. He could have sat in heaven and thought about how much He loved us, but we would still have been bound by sin and separated from Him. So, He put His love into action. He gave us a bridge to close the gap between Him and us, a bridge to make a way between Heaven and Earth. He gave us Jesus. It doesn’t get better than that. Jesus is just the best!

By giving us Jesus, God showed us love in a way that we cannot fully understand whilst we are here on Earth. Through Jesus:

• we can be forgiven our sins;
• we can be sons and daughters of God;
• we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ;
• we are spiritually seated with God in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus;
• we can be restored;
• we can be healed;
• we can be made whole;
• we have access to Papa God;
• we can pray and have our prayers answered;
• we can be set free from oppression;
• we have authority to use His Name;
• we are free;
• we are victorious; and
• so much more.

The above are all by-products of God’s love for us. He loves us so much He cannot stop giving, He can’t stop healing and restoring and helping us out. We are loved beyond measure.

Now you may be thinking, what does this all have to do with the fruit of the Spirit? The fruit of the Holy Spirit is in us in our spirit which is one with God. But to get the fruit out, it needs to go through our soul. In our spirit, because we are 100% saved, we 100% know and believe that we are loved. In our soul, because we are still undergoing the process of salvation, it takes a bit more work for us to get to a point where we know we are loved.

For us to be able to express love, we must first know that we are loved. What comes out of us, is a reflection of what is happening in us. If we feel judged, condemned, guilty or ashamed in our soul, we will release to those around us judgement, condemnation guilt and shame. If we know and believe that we are truly loved then we can then release that same love to the one’s around us.

How we treat the people around us, especially those closest to us, shows us how much we know we are loved and how much we in turn love ourselves. I am finding that the longer I walk with God and the more I receive of His love, the more I am able to release His love to others. Take note, I said “His love”. Keep that in the back of your mind for now.

When you know you are loved, you then learn to love yourself and see yourself the way God sees you. Which in turn, will help you learn to love people and see them the way God sees them. They are God’s beloved. God so loved the world not just you or me, not just our friends and family. He loved the world, so He sent Jesus.

I hope you take some time this week to read through the bible and find verses that tell you of how much God loves you. Write them down and pray about them. Ask God to make the scriptures more real to you, for Him to show you His love for you in ways that you will understand. If you do that, keep your eyes open because God is about to do some amazing things in your life.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.