There are all kinds of sandwiches with various ingredients in the middle—from cheese to onions or even olives! Oh, and don’t forget the child’s favorite, peanut butter and jelly! What you taste when you bite into a sandwich depends on what’s inside. Likewise, when life puts pressure on you, what comes out of your thoughts, words, and actions depends on what you put into your mind and heart.
“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, NLT
The Holy Spirit produces fruit in our lives, but notice the order in which it grows: love, then joy, then peace, and then patience and so much more. When the Holy Spirit fills and inspire you, you will become more patient. Fruit doesn’t grow and mature overnight, and neither does the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The part that struck me about this verse is that peace is sandwiched in between joy and patience. Let’s think about this natural order of spiritual fruit as given in the above Scripture verses.
- Love. We love our family.
- Joy. Our family brings us joy when we love them.
- Peace. When we live in love and enjoyment of our family, we find peace.
- Patience. When we are at peace, we aren’t striving, and we are not hurried and frazzled, but exhibit patience.
- Kindness. When we are patient, kindness is a byproduct.
- Goodness. When we are kind, goodness shows in our character.
- Faithfulness. Goodness in our lives shows that we are faithful to God.
- Gentleness. God is a kind, gentle, loving Father, and we can’t help but show gentleness when we are faithful to Him.
- Self-control. Put all these fruits together, and self-control is the evident result.
Let me ask you a question: What do you put into your favorite kind of sandwich? Obviously it’s something good, something you want to taste and enjoy…maybe something that won’t give you bad breath. 😊 You wouldn’t want to put something in it that tasted horrible to you and especially not something harmful. The same is true of our mind. What do you put into your mind?
Today take note of what is coming out of your mouth when you speak and your actions as you go through your day. Is it all good, clean, pure, and positive?
After a frustrating interaction at a store today that brought no resolve to a billing issue, I was ready to scream. As I approached my car, I could feel the scream making its way towards my mouth, and was going to let loose when I got into the car. But something happened as I opened the door to get in. I realized where I was—in the middle of a busy parking lot where I would be heard. Someone hearing me might think I was either in distress or losing it. Was it a good example? After all, Christ is inside of me and He is what needs to come out, not my own frustration. So I just shook my head, took a deep breath, and drove home quietly. When I got home, I was going to call support again but it looked like a hopeless situation. So instead I decided to let it go for now and see how the Lord works things out. As a result, my afternoon has been peaceful whereas it could have been full of anger, frustration, and a bad attitude. I’m not perfect and not all situations leave me in peace, but I’m still learning like the rest of us.
If we want the peace that is sandwiched in between the other fruits of the spirit, then we need to let all the fruit develop and grow in our hearts, making sure to not let it get choked out by weeds of discontent, bitterness, anger, etc. Gardeners don’t always have just one type of plant in their garden. It’s usually several ones that grow well together. Over the years of trying to have a garden, I found that certain plants don’t grow well next to others, especially vegetable and fruit plants. But when it comes to plants and animals, there are certain plants that attract and certain ones that repel animals. Make sure that the things in the garden of your heart are ones that attract others to Jesus, not push them away. The fruits of the spirit will not leave room for weeds to grow and will nourish good words and actions to burst forth.
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Psalm 4:8, ESV
This Christmas season, let us remember the words of the last lines of the first verse of “Silent Night”, sleep in Heavenly peace! Make that your aim today, that the thoughts and desires of your heart will play out in your words and actions, bringing peace as you go to sleep tonight.