1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Love is the first fruit that's mentioned in 2 00:00:06,660 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Galatians 5, verses 22-23. But what is love? Is it 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,850 Speaker 1: a feeling or is it a fruitful overflow of a 4 00:00:13,970 --> 00:00:21,329 Speaker 1: life that is abiding in Christ? Let's talk about it. Hello, hello, hello, 5 00:00:21,410 --> 00:00:23,909 Speaker 1: ladies and gents, and welcome to this week's episode of 6 00:00:23,950 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: the Bottom Beloved Podcast. As always, it's your girl, Kirby Kelly, 7 00:00:26,950 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: back at it again. And in case you didn't know, 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,260 Speaker 1: we are in a 10-episode series right now about the 9 00:00:32,420 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: fruit of the Spirit. Last week, we talked about the 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,340 Speaker 1: works of the flesh and we dove into the context 11 00:00:38,450 --> 00:00:42,409 Speaker 1: of Revelation, the context of why Paul even mentions the 12 00:00:42,450 --> 00:00:44,930 Speaker 1: fruit of the Spirit and dives into that. So if 13 00:00:44,970 --> 00:00:47,490 Speaker 1: you want to have a more well-rounded view as to 14 00:00:47,670 --> 00:00:50,990 Speaker 1: why we are talking about what we are exploring, go 15 00:00:51,130 --> 00:00:55,230 Speaker 1: and listen to that one first. In this episode, we 16 00:00:55,290 --> 00:00:58,090 Speaker 1: are going to dive into the very first fruit that 17 00:00:58,150 --> 00:01:01,740 Speaker 1: Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 through 23 mentions And it 18 00:01:01,860 --> 00:01:05,179 Speaker 1: is the fruit of love. But first, let's actually read 19 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: Galatians 5, verses 22 through 23. This is the ESV translation. 20 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:17,110 Speaker 1: It says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 21 00:01:17,390 --> 00:01:22,869 Speaker 1: and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now, 22 00:01:23,130 --> 00:01:26,350 Speaker 1: like I said last week in our episode that I 23 00:01:26,390 --> 00:01:28,870 Speaker 1: talked about with the works of the flesh, you'll remember 24 00:01:28,930 --> 00:01:30,990 Speaker 1: that we talked about the difference between works of the 25 00:01:31,050 --> 00:01:33,110 Speaker 1: flesh and fruit of the spirit. We kind of compared 26 00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:37,550 Speaker 1: and contrasted those apples and oranges, right? Or fake fruit 27 00:01:37,569 --> 00:01:39,630 Speaker 1: versus real fruit, I should say, if you remember the 28 00:01:39,650 --> 00:01:41,790 Speaker 1: little analogy I gave at the end of the episode. 29 00:01:41,930 --> 00:01:44,940 Speaker 1: But we learned that every single one of us is 30 00:01:45,060 --> 00:01:50,260 Speaker 1: producing something within our lives. We are all producing something. fruit. 31 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,620 Speaker 1: But the question isn't necessarily, am I bearing fruit? The 32 00:01:53,670 --> 00:01:56,970 Speaker 1: question is, what kind of fruit am I bearing? And 33 00:01:56,990 --> 00:02:01,370 Speaker 1: more importantly, what root am I drawing from? So that's 34 00:02:01,390 --> 00:02:04,030 Speaker 1: what we talked about last week. And today, we're slowing 35 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: down and looking at that first one that Paul mentions, 36 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,980 Speaker 1: which is love. Have you noticed, and maybe this is 37 00:02:11,060 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: just because I live in America and we only have 38 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: one food or one word for the one food. LOL. 39 00:02:18,340 --> 00:02:22,150 Speaker 1: One word for the word love. Love kind of has 40 00:02:22,190 --> 00:02:25,389 Speaker 1: lost its meaning. We say that we love food, right? 41 00:02:25,510 --> 00:02:27,670 Speaker 1: Obviously that's on my mind right now because I'm hungry. 42 00:02:27,690 --> 00:02:29,990 Speaker 1: It's like noon by the time I'm recording this, but 43 00:02:30,030 --> 00:02:33,750 Speaker 1: we love food. We love our favorite sports team. We 44 00:02:33,790 --> 00:02:37,130 Speaker 1: love a TV show. We love coffee. We love our 45 00:02:37,169 --> 00:02:40,030 Speaker 1: new pair of shoes. We love the trends that are 46 00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:42,590 Speaker 1: happening right now. Hence my polka dots that I'm wearing. 47 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: if you're watching it. But in the very next sentence, 48 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: we will say, oh, and I love my spouse. I 49 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,780 Speaker 1: love my children. I love Jesus, which all those things 50 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: are true. But it feels like the word love has 51 00:02:56,060 --> 00:02:59,930 Speaker 1: like a thousand meanings. And I don't know if you've noticed, 52 00:03:00,010 --> 00:03:03,290 Speaker 1: but the world talks about love a lot. The world 53 00:03:03,350 --> 00:03:07,510 Speaker 1: focuses on love constantly. A lot of the trending songs 54 00:03:07,730 --> 00:03:11,030 Speaker 1: are about love. A lot of the best-selling young adult 55 00:03:11,430 --> 00:03:15,380 Speaker 1: novels revolve around love. Many of the top-grossing films have 56 00:03:15,460 --> 00:03:19,839 Speaker 1: characters that fall in love. The world loves love, yet 57 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:25,740 Speaker 1: it often has no idea what love actually is. Biblical love, 58 00:03:26,100 --> 00:03:30,820 Speaker 1: the way that God intended for love to be. Culture 59 00:03:30,860 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: tells us that love is a feeling. Hollywood tells us 60 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,730 Speaker 1: that love is chemistry. Social media tells us that love 61 00:03:38,010 --> 00:03:41,770 Speaker 1: is affirmation. And our hearts tell us that love is 62 00:03:41,870 --> 00:03:45,690 Speaker 1: getting what we want when we want it. But scripture 63 00:03:45,730 --> 00:03:49,810 Speaker 1: gives us a completely different picture when it comes to love. 64 00:03:50,490 --> 00:03:52,310 Speaker 1: Some of us even struggle with love. And I'm not 65 00:03:52,350 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: just talking about your love life, right? I mean loving 66 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:58,620 Speaker 1: your neighbor, okay? Maybe somewhere along the way a person 67 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:03,060 Speaker 1: hurt you. And because of that, loving difficult people is 68 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:06,110 Speaker 1: more difficult than it already is. And I get it. 69 00:04:06,210 --> 00:04:09,930 Speaker 1: Like a lot of us have been betrayed or abandoned 70 00:04:10,230 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: or deeply wounded by people who were meant to love 71 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,420 Speaker 1: us and support us and show up for us. Maybe 72 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,679 Speaker 1: it's not just like a dramatic story at all. Maybe 73 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:21,790 Speaker 1: it's like there is a person in your life who 74 00:04:21,810 --> 00:04:24,710 Speaker 1: just constantly frustrates you and it's really hard to love them. 75 00:04:25,210 --> 00:04:27,090 Speaker 1: Or there is a family member in your life who 76 00:04:27,130 --> 00:04:30,940 Speaker 1: just pushes every button and with the holidays coming up, 77 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: you are dreading seeing that person. You're not really loving 78 00:04:34,140 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: the idea of seeing that person and loving them. Maybe 79 00:04:36,660 --> 00:04:40,180 Speaker 1: there's a coworker or someone who is above you in 80 00:04:40,420 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: the work chain ladder, right? And they take all the 81 00:04:43,370 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: credit for your hard work. And you don't really love that. 82 00:04:46,170 --> 00:04:48,730 Speaker 1: You don't really love them because of that. Or a 83 00:04:48,790 --> 00:04:52,010 Speaker 1: stranger who left a hateful comment online or the teacher 84 00:04:52,050 --> 00:04:54,250 Speaker 1: who just seems impossible to please. There are so many 85 00:04:54,290 --> 00:05:00,670 Speaker 1: scenarios in which it poses... Loving someone poses as a 86 00:05:00,690 --> 00:05:05,510 Speaker 1: hard thing to do. It's hard to just love people 87 00:05:05,550 --> 00:05:09,589 Speaker 1: that we don't really love. But when we abide in 88 00:05:09,690 --> 00:05:12,849 Speaker 1: Christ and we invite him to abide in us, the 89 00:05:12,970 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: Holy Spirit begins to cultivate the fruit of love that 90 00:05:17,260 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: blossoms organically in our lives. And you might be like, 91 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,380 Speaker 1: how is this possible when you think about those people 92 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: in your life? But it is possible because Jesus first 93 00:05:26,260 --> 00:05:31,110 Speaker 1: and foremost invites us to receive his love. And when 94 00:05:31,150 --> 00:05:34,789 Speaker 1: we understand and receive and are transformed by his love, 95 00:05:35,210 --> 00:05:38,550 Speaker 1: the way that we love others begins to change too. 96 00:05:39,710 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: It begins to change dramatically. So love begins with God, 97 00:05:44,220 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: first and foremost. And before the Bible ever commanded us 98 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:52,900 Speaker 1: to love, it tells us something remarkable in 1 John 4, 8. 99 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: Anyone who does not love does not know God because 100 00:05:55,580 --> 00:06:00,850 Speaker 1: God is love. God is love. Notice what John does 101 00:06:00,910 --> 00:06:05,430 Speaker 1: not write. He doesn't simply say God loves. He specifies 102 00:06:05,490 --> 00:06:11,310 Speaker 1: that God is love. He is love. Love isn't merely 103 00:06:11,370 --> 00:06:15,870 Speaker 1: something that God simply does. He does love. But it's 104 00:06:15,910 --> 00:06:19,869 Speaker 1: because love is who he is. And everything that God 105 00:06:20,150 --> 00:06:24,770 Speaker 1: does flows from his character. When he forgives, he does 106 00:06:24,830 --> 00:06:28,380 Speaker 1: so in love. When he disciplines, he does so in love. 107 00:06:28,620 --> 00:06:31,460 Speaker 1: When he comforts, he does so in love. When he 108 00:06:31,540 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: sent Jesus, he did so in love. One of the 109 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: most famous Bible verses in scripture begins with these words, 110 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,740 Speaker 1: for God so loved the world, right? John 3, 16, anyone? 111 00:06:45,660 --> 00:06:51,450 Speaker 1: Everything begins there. The gospel begins with God's initiative, God's love, 112 00:06:51,510 --> 00:06:54,990 Speaker 1: not ours, okay? Before we ever loved him, he loved us. 113 00:06:56,820 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: Romans 5 reminds us that while we were still sinners, 114 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:03,580 Speaker 1: Christ died for us. It was not after we got 115 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: our lives together and after we became worthy or after 116 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:10,500 Speaker 1: we proved ourselves. It was while we were still running 117 00:07:10,580 --> 00:07:13,470 Speaker 1: from him and rejecting him that he died for the 118 00:07:13,550 --> 00:07:18,290 Speaker 1: chance that we would choose him. That's grace. That's love. 119 00:07:18,710 --> 00:07:22,929 Speaker 1: He has always been the first. He has always been 120 00:07:22,950 --> 00:07:27,650 Speaker 1: the initiator. And here's why this matters. You cannot overflow 121 00:07:28,070 --> 00:07:32,500 Speaker 1: with something that you have not first received. You have 122 00:07:32,540 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: to receive the love of Christ if you are going 123 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: to extend the love of Christ towards someone else and 124 00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: exemplify that in your life and see that fruit in 125 00:07:41,260 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: your life because it's the Holy Spirit producing it, remember? 126 00:07:44,180 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: It's the Holy Spirit producing it as he abides in 127 00:07:47,580 --> 00:07:51,820 Speaker 1: us because we abide in him. But that begins with 128 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: us receiving him first. Like imagine trying to pour water 129 00:07:55,820 --> 00:08:00,170 Speaker 1: from an empty pitcher, like literally impossible. You can't do that. Okay. 130 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,110 Speaker 1: Yet there are so many Christians out there who are 131 00:08:03,210 --> 00:08:06,790 Speaker 1: spiritually exhausted and empty because they're trying to pour out 132 00:08:07,010 --> 00:08:11,330 Speaker 1: love while neglecting to receive the love from the one 133 00:08:11,410 --> 00:08:14,540 Speaker 1: who loves us first. So maybe that's where you need 134 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: to begin today is receiving the love of Christ for 135 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: yourself and being transformed by that love so that you 136 00:08:21,460 --> 00:08:25,220 Speaker 1: can actually properly love people, not performatively or And not 137 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,740 Speaker 1: from a place of fakeness, but from a place of faithfulness, 138 00:08:28,780 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: from a place of, wait, this is actually genuine because 139 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:35,620 Speaker 1: of the fruit of the Spirit in my life. So 140 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: what is biblical love, okay? Before we define the kind 141 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,230 Speaker 1: of love that Paul is talking about, I think it's 142 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,810 Speaker 1: important to understand something about the language that he was 143 00:08:43,850 --> 00:08:45,830 Speaker 1: writing in. And I think I've talked about this in 144 00:08:45,850 --> 00:08:49,670 Speaker 1: an episode in the past, but our English language only 145 00:08:49,710 --> 00:08:53,190 Speaker 1: has one word, and it's love, okay? Like, I can say, 146 00:08:53,270 --> 00:08:56,010 Speaker 1: I love tacos. I love food. Obviously, it's on my mind. 147 00:08:57,340 --> 00:08:59,079 Speaker 1: But I can also say, I love my husband. I 148 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,180 Speaker 1: love my friends. I love Jesus. All using the same 149 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:06,060 Speaker 1: exact word. And obviously, I don't love food the same 150 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,580 Speaker 1: way that I love my husband. Okay? Completely different. The 151 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,319 Speaker 1: context helps us figure out what kind of love we 152 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,780 Speaker 1: mean when we use that word in the English language. 153 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:19,170 Speaker 1: But in Greek, the language in which the New Testament 154 00:09:19,190 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: was written... There were several different words that described different 155 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:26,760 Speaker 1: aspects of love, and I'm probably going to butcher these. 156 00:09:28,260 --> 00:09:32,809 Speaker 1: So I apologize if I mispronounce them, okay? While these 157 00:09:32,850 --> 00:09:37,950 Speaker 1: categories aren't always used rigidly, they do help us appreciate 158 00:09:38,070 --> 00:09:42,250 Speaker 1: the richness of what Paul's actually communicating. So one word 159 00:09:42,350 --> 00:09:48,260 Speaker 1: for love is storge, which refers to... It's familial affection, 160 00:09:48,340 --> 00:09:51,500 Speaker 1: natural familial affection. It's the love between a parent and 161 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,870 Speaker 1: a child, the love that I have for my daughter, Lily. 162 00:09:53,990 --> 00:09:57,530 Speaker 1: It's the kind of love that causes a mother like 163 00:09:57,570 --> 00:09:58,929 Speaker 1: me to wake up in the middle of the night 164 00:09:59,630 --> 00:10:02,199 Speaker 1: and rock. my crying baby for like two hours. Okay. 165 00:10:02,260 --> 00:10:07,260 Speaker 1: That familial affection, that's story game. Then there's philia. Okay. 166 00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:10,540 Speaker 1: Which is friendship, love, or brotherly love. That's where we 167 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,359 Speaker 1: get the word Philadelphia, like the city of brotherly love. Hello. Um, 168 00:10:15,830 --> 00:10:18,770 Speaker 1: here in the United States. This is the affection between 169 00:10:18,990 --> 00:10:22,340 Speaker 1: close friends who genuinely just enjoy each other's company. Like, 170 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 1: I love my friends. This is phileia, okay? Then there's eros. 171 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:32,579 Speaker 1: Eros is like romantic, passionate love. Interestingly enough, this word 172 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,350 Speaker 1: never really appears in the New Testament, even though scripture 173 00:10:36,429 --> 00:10:40,410 Speaker 1: clearly celebrates marital love in places like the Song of Songs, 174 00:10:40,530 --> 00:10:43,350 Speaker 1: Ephesians 5, yada, yada, yada. But that's what eros is, 175 00:10:43,470 --> 00:10:46,980 Speaker 1: that type of love. But the word for love that 176 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,970 Speaker 1: Paul is using here in Galatians 5 is agape. We 177 00:10:51,010 --> 00:10:53,810 Speaker 1: see agape a lot in the New Testament. And it's 178 00:10:53,850 --> 00:10:59,750 Speaker 1: incredibly significant because agape isn't primarily about emotion. It's not 179 00:10:59,790 --> 00:11:03,810 Speaker 1: about emotion. It's not rooted in attraction. It's not dependent 180 00:11:03,890 --> 00:11:07,970 Speaker 1: on chemistry. It's not based on whether someone deserves it. 181 00:11:08,630 --> 00:11:13,270 Speaker 1: Agape is a kind of love that chooses the highest 182 00:11:13,590 --> 00:11:18,570 Speaker 1: good of another person's interest, even when it costs you something. 183 00:11:18,670 --> 00:11:22,170 Speaker 1: It is a sacrificial love. It is a unconditional love. 184 00:11:22,210 --> 00:11:25,829 Speaker 1: It is, I am choosing what is best for you. 185 00:11:27,250 --> 00:11:30,869 Speaker 1: It is self-giving. It is sacrificial. It is steadfast. It 186 00:11:30,950 --> 00:11:37,250 Speaker 1: is a love that acts before it feels. And that's powerful. 187 00:11:37,900 --> 00:11:42,429 Speaker 1: When scripture says God is love, This is what we're 188 00:11:42,450 --> 00:11:44,950 Speaker 1: talking about. When we are called to love one another, 189 00:11:45,530 --> 00:11:48,030 Speaker 1: when we're talking about the fruit of the Spirit, the 190 00:11:48,150 --> 00:11:51,740 Speaker 1: love that is produced only by the Spirit, by God himself, 191 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,429 Speaker 1: this is the kind of love that it's talking about. 192 00:11:54,510 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: Agape love. All right? So when Jesus says, love one 193 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: another as I have loved you, that word is agape. 194 00:12:02,540 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: When Paul tells us the fruit of the Spirit is love, 195 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: that's agape. And it's telling, it's communicating something very important 196 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,550 Speaker 1: with that word, that first. First, this is the first 197 00:12:13,570 --> 00:12:16,790 Speaker 1: fruit of the Spirit. And I think that's really incredible. 198 00:12:16,809 --> 00:12:19,150 Speaker 1: The first fruit of the Spirit isn't just be more 199 00:12:19,210 --> 00:12:23,530 Speaker 1: affectionate or emotional or sentimental. No, it's be more like Jesus. 200 00:12:24,550 --> 00:12:28,630 Speaker 1: Because Jesus is the perfect picture of agape. Be like Jesus. 201 00:12:28,950 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: He loved when it cost him. He loved when he 202 00:12:31,910 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: was rejected and misunderstood and betrayed. He loved while nails 203 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,500 Speaker 1: were being driven into his hands and feet. That's why 204 00:12:40,580 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: biblical love is so different from the way that our 205 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,540 Speaker 1: culture often defines it. Because our culture says love is 206 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,819 Speaker 1: something that you fall into. But the Bible says love 207 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: is something that flows out of a transformed heart. Culture 208 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:59,020 Speaker 1: says that love follows your feelings. But Jesus demonstrates that 209 00:12:59,260 --> 00:13:03,530 Speaker 1: love is supposed to lead your feelings. Culture says love 210 00:13:03,570 --> 00:13:07,610 Speaker 1: yourself first. But Jesus says love one another as I 211 00:13:07,690 --> 00:13:12,730 Speaker 1: have loved you. The Bible doesn't tell us to ignore 212 00:13:12,770 --> 00:13:17,660 Speaker 1: our emotions. Let me state that. Love does not ignore emotions. 213 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 1: God created our emotions. They're good gifts. They're great gifts. 214 00:13:21,660 --> 00:13:27,020 Speaker 1: They're indicators. But biblical love is not governed by changing emotions. 215 00:13:27,420 --> 00:13:32,710 Speaker 1: Biblical love is anchored in God's unchanging character. That is 216 00:13:32,750 --> 00:13:35,230 Speaker 1: why this fruit can only be produced by the Holy Spirit. 217 00:13:35,250 --> 00:13:40,190 Speaker 1: Because left to ourselves... We naturally love the people who 218 00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:42,830 Speaker 1: are easy to love. Hence everything I said at the 219 00:13:42,850 --> 00:13:44,510 Speaker 1: beginning of this podcast. There are a lot of people 220 00:13:44,530 --> 00:13:47,470 Speaker 1: in our life who are not easy to love. There 221 00:13:47,510 --> 00:13:49,030 Speaker 1: are a lot of people who are. The people who 222 00:13:49,070 --> 00:13:51,650 Speaker 1: agree with us. It's easy to love that person. The 223 00:13:51,670 --> 00:13:53,970 Speaker 1: people who appreciate us. The people who give us something 224 00:13:54,010 --> 00:13:56,809 Speaker 1: in return. The people who talk the same as us, 225 00:13:57,090 --> 00:13:58,980 Speaker 1: dress the same as us, vote the same as us. 226 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: It's easy to love people that are just like us. 227 00:14:02,420 --> 00:14:06,100 Speaker 1: The sameness, okay? But that's why this fruit can only 228 00:14:06,150 --> 00:14:08,559 Speaker 1: be produced by the Holy Spirit, because love to ourselves, 229 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: like I said, we're only going to love the people 230 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:13,900 Speaker 1: that are like us. The Spirit empowers us to love 231 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:18,260 Speaker 1: like Christ, to bless those who curse us, to forgive 232 00:14:18,350 --> 00:14:21,990 Speaker 1: those who wound us, to serve those who cannot repay us, 233 00:14:22,070 --> 00:14:26,110 Speaker 1: to seek someone else's good, even when it costs us 234 00:14:26,610 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: our own comfort and convenience. That's why 1 Corinthians 13 says, 235 00:14:31,850 --> 00:14:36,850 Speaker 1: never defines love by emotion. It defines love by attraction, 236 00:14:37,170 --> 00:14:39,390 Speaker 1: by action. If you've ever been to a wedding, then 237 00:14:39,430 --> 00:14:43,350 Speaker 1: you know love is patient. Love is kind. Love does 238 00:14:43,370 --> 00:14:48,130 Speaker 1: not envy. It's not proud. It's action. It's action. Almost 239 00:14:48,330 --> 00:14:52,730 Speaker 1: every description of love sounds remarkably similar to the fruit 240 00:14:52,750 --> 00:14:58,910 Speaker 1: of the Spirit when we look at 1 Corinthians 13. Patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control. 241 00:14:58,970 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: It's almost as if The rest of the fruit of 242 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: the Spirit become visible when genuine love, agape, exists in 243 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: our life. Because what? God is love. And we're trying 244 00:15:09,580 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: to be Christ-like. No wonder Jesus summarized the entire law 245 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:19,610 Speaker 1: in two commands. Love God. Love people. The Holy Spirit 246 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,730 Speaker 1: is producing agape love in the believer who abides in 247 00:15:23,830 --> 00:15:27,930 Speaker 1: Christ through the reading of the word, through praying honestly, 248 00:15:28,610 --> 00:15:36,170 Speaker 1: through repenting quickly, worshiping wholeheartedly and walking biblically among community 249 00:15:36,310 --> 00:15:40,370 Speaker 1: frequently in doing so the holy spirit will slowly begin 250 00:15:40,690 --> 00:15:43,130 Speaker 1: to reshape your heart to love the people who are 251 00:15:43,170 --> 00:15:46,630 Speaker 1: hard to love you might not notice it immediately but 252 00:15:46,670 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: it's something that happens over time when you cultivate a 253 00:15:49,030 --> 00:15:53,140 Speaker 1: fruit it happens over time you begin to respond differently 254 00:15:53,540 --> 00:15:57,770 Speaker 1: you begin to forgive faster you begin to be less defensive, 255 00:15:57,930 --> 00:16:02,690 Speaker 1: more compassionate, slower to anger. Not because you're just becoming 256 00:16:02,770 --> 00:16:05,750 Speaker 1: a better person or a nicer Christian, but because Christ 257 00:16:06,050 --> 00:16:12,250 Speaker 1: is increasingly living through you. So loving people can be hard. 258 00:16:12,910 --> 00:16:15,500 Speaker 1: It can be difficult. There are certain people in my life, 259 00:16:15,550 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 1: even right now, where I'm like, you know what? It 260 00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: is hard to love you right now because of the 261 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,660 Speaker 1: decisions that you're making and the life that you're living 262 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,990 Speaker 1: and the words that you're saying. And the list goes 263 00:16:26,030 --> 00:16:27,850 Speaker 1: on and on. There are people in my life who 264 00:16:27,890 --> 00:16:29,930 Speaker 1: are hard to love. And maybe I'm a person that's 265 00:16:29,950 --> 00:16:32,750 Speaker 1: hard to love to someone else. It is what it is. 266 00:16:33,510 --> 00:16:37,770 Speaker 1: The truth and the problem is that our fleshly nature 267 00:16:38,170 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: loves conditionally, right? I'll love you if you agree with me, 268 00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 1: if you apologize, if you respect me, if you deserve it. 269 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: That is how the flesh operates. It's a transactional love. 270 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: But God's love... is not transactional. It's transformational, but it's 271 00:16:59,220 --> 00:17:03,940 Speaker 1: not transactional. Think about Jesus, okay? He washed Judas's feet 272 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: knowing that Judas was going to betray him, sell him 273 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: out for some silver, the king of glory. You kidding me? 274 00:17:13,260 --> 00:17:17,020 Speaker 1: How many of us do that for free? Conviction. He 275 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:20,330 Speaker 1: restored Peter knowing that Peter was going to deny him. 276 00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:25,200 Speaker 1: He prayed for the very people that crucified him. Father, 277 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,770 Speaker 1: forgive them for they know not what they do. That's 278 00:17:29,810 --> 00:17:35,050 Speaker 1: not natural. That's supernatural. The flesh keeps a score, whereas 279 00:17:35,109 --> 00:17:38,930 Speaker 1: the spirit will continue to serve. And that's only because 280 00:17:38,970 --> 00:17:40,449 Speaker 1: it's a fruit of the spirit. It's a work of 281 00:17:40,510 --> 00:17:44,620 Speaker 1: the spirit. The flesh asks, what do they deserve? Do 282 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,960 Speaker 1: they really deserve this? But the spirit asks, how has 283 00:17:48,020 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 1: Christ loved me? It really contemplates that. And it is 284 00:17:53,180 --> 00:17:56,090 Speaker 1: out of that contemplation that we are moved to compassion, 285 00:17:56,210 --> 00:18:01,050 Speaker 1: to have genuine love for people. I have found that 286 00:18:01,070 --> 00:18:04,710 Speaker 1: the more aware I am of God's mercy and love 287 00:18:04,750 --> 00:18:07,790 Speaker 1: towards me, first of all, the more amazed I become 288 00:18:07,830 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: at his love. But through that, the more willing I 289 00:18:10,740 --> 00:18:15,540 Speaker 1: become to extend love and mercy towards others. It's exactly 290 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,020 Speaker 1: like what 1 John 4, 19 says. we love because 291 00:18:20,060 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: he first loved us. It's a fruit. It is a 292 00:18:22,980 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: byproduct of the love that we have received and been 293 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: redeemed by. So in conclusion, love, period. But know that 294 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: it's a fruit of the spirit. Let me give you 295 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: a picture. Let me do it like this. Have you 296 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:44,619 Speaker 1: ever noticed that the moon doesn't actually produce its own light? 297 00:18:45,460 --> 00:18:48,619 Speaker 1: It looks bright. It's up in the night sky. It 298 00:18:48,660 --> 00:18:53,000 Speaker 1: illuminates the darkness, but the moon has no light of 299 00:18:53,060 --> 00:18:55,679 Speaker 1: its own. Every bit of light that you see from 300 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: the moon, it's a reflection of the sun, in case 301 00:18:59,060 --> 00:19:03,010 Speaker 1: you didn't know that. And I wonder how often we think, 302 00:19:03,250 --> 00:19:07,470 Speaker 1: I need to generate this love from my own willpower, 303 00:19:07,570 --> 00:19:09,790 Speaker 1: from within myself. I need to love this person who's 304 00:19:09,930 --> 00:19:12,930 Speaker 1: really difficult. I need to love this person who I 305 00:19:12,950 --> 00:19:14,990 Speaker 1: have to see every day and I get on my nerves. 306 00:19:15,030 --> 00:19:17,169 Speaker 1: I need to love this person who not only betrayed me, 307 00:19:17,210 --> 00:19:19,719 Speaker 1: but betrayed my friend. Like I need to love these people. 308 00:19:19,740 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: I need to love them out of my own strength. No, 309 00:19:24,780 --> 00:19:28,570 Speaker 1: we're just like the moon. We are reflecting the love 310 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,129 Speaker 1: of Christ. It is the love of Christ that radiates 311 00:19:31,270 --> 00:19:33,770 Speaker 1: through us because we have received it and been transformed 312 00:19:33,830 --> 00:19:38,609 Speaker 1: by us. Like God is the source. God is the source. 313 00:19:38,990 --> 00:19:41,649 Speaker 1: We are the moon. We don't create love. We reflect it. 314 00:19:42,570 --> 00:19:45,730 Speaker 1: The closer that we remain to Jesus, the true light 315 00:19:45,750 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: of the world, might I add, the more his love 316 00:19:48,340 --> 00:19:51,970 Speaker 1: will shine through us. That's why the Christian life isn't 317 00:19:52,060 --> 00:19:55,060 Speaker 1: just about becoming a better person or a more loving person. 318 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: It is about staying so close to Christ that people 319 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,700 Speaker 1: begin to encounter his love when they encounter you. And 320 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:12,690 Speaker 1: maybe that's the experience my life do they walk away 321 00:20:13,050 --> 00:20:17,090 Speaker 1: thinking i'm a loving person or do they walk away 322 00:20:17,410 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: actually capturing a glimpse of jesus and his love because 323 00:20:22,060 --> 00:20:24,439 Speaker 1: like i said we can manufacture love out of our 324 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,619 Speaker 1: own hearts and willpower and yada yada yada but are 325 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,940 Speaker 1: they actually experiencing an authentic love the love of christ 326 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:36,490 Speaker 1: agape love because that's ultimately the purpose of the fruit 327 00:20:36,510 --> 00:20:39,489 Speaker 1: of the spirit right Not that people would admire us, 328 00:20:39,869 --> 00:20:42,390 Speaker 1: but that they would see Christ and be drawn to 329 00:20:42,570 --> 00:20:48,689 Speaker 1: Him through the testimony and representation of our life as 330 00:20:48,750 --> 00:20:53,690 Speaker 1: His image bearers. So that's love, y'all. That's the fruit 331 00:20:53,770 --> 00:20:56,550 Speaker 1: of the Spirit. That's the first one. If this episode 332 00:20:56,609 --> 00:20:59,210 Speaker 1: encouraged you, I would love for you to share it 333 00:20:59,350 --> 00:21:01,389 Speaker 1: with a friend maybe who needs to hear it too. 334 00:21:02,330 --> 00:21:05,570 Speaker 1: I really hope that it helps people understand To walk 335 00:21:05,790 --> 00:21:07,609 Speaker 1: in love and to walk more like Christ because we 336 00:21:07,670 --> 00:21:11,410 Speaker 1: need the love of Jesus. We need truth and love. Both. Both. 337 00:21:11,570 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: In order to be effective communicators and influences of the gospel. Period. 338 00:21:17,900 --> 00:21:19,719 Speaker 1: And if you haven't already, if you want to leave 339 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 1: a review for the podcast, feel free to do that 340 00:21:21,380 --> 00:21:23,820 Speaker 1: as well. But next week, we are going to be 341 00:21:23,859 --> 00:21:27,020 Speaker 1: talking about the next fruit of the spirit, which is joy. 342 00:21:28,540 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: Not the kind of happiness that is dependent on circumstances, 343 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,030 Speaker 1: but the deep, unshakable joy that the Holy Spirit produces 344 00:21:36,310 --> 00:21:39,430 Speaker 1: even in the middle of suffering. And I know plenty 345 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,460 Speaker 1: about that. All right. Can't wait to dive into it 346 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:43,139 Speaker 1: with you all. I love you guys. I'll see you 347 00:21:43,180 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 1: here next week as we continue the Fruit of the 348 00:21:44,740 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: Spirit series. But until then, love y'all. Love God, love people. Bye. 349 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,610 Speaker 1: For more life-giving faith-based podcasts just like this one, check 350 00:21:55,670 --> 00:21:59,810 Speaker 1: out lifeaudio.com, a proud partner of the Botten Beloved Podcast.