Fruit of the spirit 1: Love

Xanthe Galanis

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Galatians 5:22-23(a)

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 34

Paul’s list of nine character traits that define a Christians is one of the most well-known pieces of Scripture. It’s worth noting is that it’s just one fruit with nine aspects, not nine different fruits.

In the Bible, there are three different types of love. There’s the Greek word phileo which is a brotherly love. There is also the Greek word erros, which is the passionate and erotic love between a husband and wife. And then there’s the Greek word agape which is the love that God bestows upon us. It is the strongest of the three loves and the kind of love that we are commanded to produce in John 131:34. We are to love others with the same kind of love God loves us with.

Agape is the self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is more a love by choice than philos, which is love by chance; and it refers to the will rather than the emotion. Agape describes the unconditional love God has for the world. It’s no coincidence this is the first trait listed in the fruit of the Spirit. Why is it that love is so important in the life of a Christ follower? Why would love be so important to be listed first among the fruit of the spirit, mentioned so many times throughout the scriptures, and spoken of so often by Jesus himself? Without love, everything else is worthless. All too often we place more importance on faith and works than on love. The fact is, that those works and that faith ought to be based in love. When we perform kind acts, it should be out of love, not duty. When we sing songs of praise to the Lord, it must be out of love for him, not obligation.

If we can keep Jesus’ commandment to love another, almost everything else we're instructed to do will come as a natural byproduct. They will know we are Christians by our love. Let it show.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the unconditional, sacrificial love you have shown me. Help me to develop and reflect love like this through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen