DEVELOP THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT AND LOVE EVERYONE
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV)
The best way to get along with everyone is by developing the fruit that comes from God:
Love: it allows us to accept other people’s mistakes and put up with their differences. It helps us forgive, it keeps us believing in others even when they fail us; love is able to cover the mistakes from our spouse, children, friends, partners and brothers in Christ.
Patience: God wants us to be patient with others. He wants us to have patience with our spouse and with our son who seems not to change; to be patient with our boss, our colleagues, family or friends that mistreat us. We must be patient with other people’s imperfections, differences and weaknesses.
Kindness: this means a righteous heart and life, to have benevolence, to be generous with others, to show God’s love with our actions and to be good to everyone.
Gentleness: this is to be kind and not harsh, not to show a bad temperament, anger, but to put up with one another. This is to be courteous in order to rebuke without any hard feelings, not being intolerant, to face the truth without resentment, to get angry without sinning and to be kind.
It is worth fighting to keep good relationships with those who surround us. We all seek happiness, but it all starts with having peace and love inside of us. When we are good with ourselves, when we allow the Holy Spirit to manifest His fruit, because of our communion with Him; then the relationships or situations we thought could no longer be restored, can now change through the power of the Spirit of God that operates in us. Give the Spirit of God the opportunity to fill your life so the fruit inside of you can be love, patience, kindness, gentleness, etc.
Think about it:
-Lately, have you tried to accept other people in your own strength, but it still hasn’t worked? What do you think you are missing?
-What fruit do you need to have in order to have good relationships with those who surround you?
