INDULGE – IT’S FREE!
Have you ever been to a meal where everyone at the table was hungry and ate everything in sight?
I had 11 family members and friends over for Thanksgiving dinner several years ago. Everything was prepared and on the table except for the rolls which were still in the oven. We prayed for the food, and then I got up to get the rolls out of the oven. I put them in a basket and then brought them to the table. In that short amount of time, (I kid you not), people were already going for seconds! That was before I even sat down at the table.
Not quite sure why everyone felt like they needed to hurry up and eat so much so fast! Was it because it was free, and they could have whatever they wanted? Maybe it was because some of them were brought up in a large family where if they didn’t take their portion, it would have been gone.
We have lots of limitations in life:
Speed limits
Diets where food is limited or even excluded…3-4 oz of meat! AND no starches!
These limits are set for reasons, but they can be difficult to follow.
We hear the phrase “nothing is free”. But is that really true?
Paul tells us in Galatians that we are free because of what Christ did for us. We probably already know this. Paul also urges us not to let the things of this world bog us down. Don’t be burdened by sin but let love rule in our lives!
We’ve been given freedom…not to do wrong according to our flesh, but the freedom to love and serve each other.
When we give Holy Spirit control of our lives, He will produce fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
But that’s not all. When we get more of His fruit produced in our lives, then it will be a natural thing also to pour out that fruit in others.
We GET an abundance of kindness; We GIVE an abundance of kindness.
This is all great, but the kicker and most important part of this message is found in verse 23. It says, “Against such, there is NO law.” NOT GOD’S LAW AND NOT MAN’S LAW.
This means that each part of the fruit of the Spirit is FREE!
Unlike meals from a large family where you get your portion and no more…we can have as much as we want of the fruit of the Spirit.
We can absolutely indulge. Then why don’t we? Does society, friends, family, or our “stuff and agenda” get in the way? I encourage you to indulge in His fruit. It’s free.
How much more could God move in our lives and in the lives of others if we all took more of His love, goodness or kindness? What if we all had more self-control and patience?
I encourage you to take as much of God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as you possibly can.
Remember, there is NO law against how much we can have of the fruit of the Spirit.
AND it is for freedom, that Christ has set us free. He freely gives so we can also freely give to others.
Ask God to give you more of His fruit. Maybe start with goodness. Focus on getting and giving more goodness this week!
Galatians 5 (1, 13, 22-23) (New English Translation)
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh; but through love serve one another. For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
