Our daughter Katie and family attend church faithfully on Sundays, for which Diane and I are most grateful. During the week Katie spends time on memory work with the boys, Drew, 9-years-old and Jacob, 7 years-old. Yesterday she shared a short video of their memory session on the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23.
Jacob: “I remember patience.” Katie: “That’s good. You guys got two of nine.”
Jacob: “I remember apple.” Katie: “Apple is not a fruit of the spirit; it is a fruit. You guys got love and patience. Do you remember any others?”
Jacob: “Banana.” Katie: “Banana is not a fruit of the Spirit in the Bible.”
Drew: “It’s self-control.” Katie: “Drew got the third one. Excellent.”
Jacob: “Pineapple.” Katie: “Not pineapple. What about forbearance?”
Jacob: “Uh, forbearance.” Katie: “It’s a big word.”
Drew, the older boy, is intense in everything he does. So, when he answered “self-control,” he knew exactly what it means. Jake, on the other hand, is a jokester, you can see a twinkle in his eye when he’s up to something. The twinkle was there as he gave his literal list of fruit. What’s going on deep in their hearts and spiritual formation? God knows and thank Him that His Word works. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
When children become adults, the responsibility for spiritual formation passes from parents to the now adult child. Individually each of us is steward of the faith God has planted in us. In our troubled times when so many people aren’t showing the fruit of the Spirit but instead the works of the flesh, we all do well to meditate on the Word that changes our heads, hearts, and lifestyle. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25).
Comments