Jack Gray was the mighty man of God who taught me the book of Galatians. Small of stature, Jack possessed a magnanimous heart. "When you are bumped you spill what you are full of," he would say. I have found that to be joyfully and painfully true!
When we came to the fruit of the Spirit he said, "The Holy Spirit of God produces these character qualities in us as we wait for him." You have heard that preachers of old said, "Do not pray for patience. It is painful." But this elder statesman said, "Pray for patience. It is one of the fruit that God wants to produce in you."
On our family retreat we sang a song about the fruit of the Spirit, and one of our beautiful children (and all of the children are beautiful in God's Kingdom), said, "I know that song because I sing it at school." Even if you don't know the song, live these words. The world is waiting and watching for God's people to be who we say we are.
Oranges produce orange juice, not apple juice. Christians produce love, not hate, peace, not war, joy, not sadness. Somebody will bump you this week. What will spill out of you when they do?
