Rooted in Love: Living the First Fruit of the Spirit
The air is thick with the mingled aromas of roasted meats, sauces, and sweet baked goods. Spices from different cuisines blend together—garlic, ginger, curry, cinnamon—creating a warm blanket of aromas that wraps around you the moment you enter. Steam curls upward as you lift a plate, still warm from the stack. The cold metal tongs brush the side of the chafing dish, making a digging sound as you reach for the savory fare.
Who doesn’t love a well-done buffet? Unfortunately, the Fruit of the Spirit is not a buffet. We cannot decide that kindness sounds appetizing today and maybe we will sample love tomorrow. The Fruit of the Spirit is not fruits—it is fruit, singular—meaning that when you abide (John 15) in the Lord, you too are called to bear the fruit that comes from His Spirit.
Galatians: Fruit of the Spirit
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, outlines the fruit as:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23, NIV).
The word Paul uses here for love is agapē. Unlike the English language, which expresses love using one word, Greek distinguishes between different types of love. This particular word means affection, goodwill, love, benevolence, brotherly love. It is an unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love.
The root of agapē is agapaō—a verb meaning to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly. Agapē differs from philia (brotherly love) and eros (erotic love).
Out of this kind of love flows the rest of the graces listed. When we do not understand the source of the fruit and the giver of this love. This active love, not an emotion—then we cannot properly abide in Christ or allow this fruit to become evident in us.
To give greater context and understanding, the same root word is used in the foundational scripture of the Christian faith: “For God so loved [agapaō] the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV). God gave His only Son as a substitute for our sins. When we choose to receive Him as Lord and Savior and recognize His death on the cross and resurrection, we are reconciled to God for eternity. Again, this kind of love is action.
The word agapē is also expressed in: “But God demonstrates his own [agapē] love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV).
While Jesus was being nailed—while we nailed Him to the cross—He loved us. He loved you and me in the midst of our sinfulness.
In Matthew 22:35–44, Jesus responds to a lawyer who sought to entrap Him by expressing the Greatest Commandment. He declares that the greatest commandment is to love (agapaō) God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind. The second is like it: to love (agapaō) your neighbor as yourself. Together, these two commandments fulfill the entirety of the Law. Following this, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, redefining for His listeners that a "neighbor" is anyone in need. We called to selfless, sacrificial and benevolent love to anyone in need.
As C. S. Lewis put it so well:
God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that he may love and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseen—or should we say ‘seeing’? There are no tenses in God—the buzzing cloud of flies about the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time after time, for breath’s sake hitched up.… This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all loves.[1]
When I think of this love, it is difficult to ignore the self-denial it requires. It is not a love moved by emotions. It is love in action. It is loving those who do wrong to you—those you might even call enemies.
Jesus, in His earthly ministry, preached a kingdom that was contrary to the one experienced on earth: the first shall be last, serve others to lead. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenged the crowd to love their enemies:
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love (agapaō) your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43–48, NIV).
Again, agapaō your enemies. We are challenged to reflect God in our love—not just by loving those who love us, but also by loving those who persecute us.
There are many more examples of agapē and agapaō that illustrate God’s love. If I do not understand that this (agapē) love is God—that it is an attribute of His character—then I will never be able to exhibit this same love toward others. It is a love that first requires us to receive it.
As much as I would like to handpick which fruit to exhibit, the conviction of God’s Word shows that I am to abide in Him so that His fruit becomes evident in me.
I remember a time in my life when I experienced love for a stranger. I used to work at a homeless shelter. One day, a person walked in. The stench of urine mixed with dirt preceded her entrance. Upon first glance, if you had passed her on the street, you may have ignored her or turned away. But when I met her eyes, I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense of love for this woman. I didn’t know her or her story, but streams of love overcame me. With tears flowing from my eyes, I spoke to her and was able to serve her through the shelter that day. I share this because the love experienced for this stranger was outside of myself. I believe, that day, I experienced God’s love for one of His daughters.
None of this seems popular—especially in a time of cancel culture. There are entire groups of people “canceling” one another. I am not saying that we are to approve of lifestyle choices or ideologies that go against a biblical worldview. What I am saying is that Jesus was the perfect example of love. He gave His life. He called us to love our enemies. He intermingled with and loved many who lived “sinful” lives, yet never compromised who He was in God.
Love is going to your brother or sister in Christ and addressing sin in their lives privately (Matthew 18), or like Jesus did with the Samaritan woman—He met her where she was, in love, but pointed out that she should go and sin no more.
Reflections
Who is your neighbor in this season of life?
Is there someone God is calling you to love, even when your emotions don’t align?
Are you loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Prayer:
God, I desire to reflect the Fruit of the Spirit in my life. Help me to know You more deeply and to understand Your love for me more fully. Lord, this kind of selfless love goes against my natural tendencies. I ask that You open the eyes of my heart to truly see others and their needs. Give me creativity and compassion as I respond in love and seek to meet those needs. And when the time comes for me to love someone by sharing the truth about sin, grant me discernment—both in Your timing and in how I speak. Thank you for the gift of your love. Amen.