“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
The Lord is ever pouring His wisdom into me as He grows me, and these words He spoke to my heart bear such a powerful message when it comes to serving Jesus in our everyday lives.
“Be patient. Be gentle. Be truthful. Be careful. Be discerning. Be wise. Be diligent. Be faithful. How much action is involved in all this? This is about your heart. Make sure your heart is pure for me. Others will see me through not just your actions but also the condition of your heart. Be pure.”
It’s so easy to think serving the Lord Jesus Christ is merely about taking actions in the way of loving, helping, and serving others and telling them about Jesus, but it’s vitally important that our hearts are pleasing to the Lord also – and that our hearts show to the world the love of Jesus.
When our hearts are filled with anything dishonoring to the Lord, we are not just displeasing Him in our hearts being filled with sin. We are not demonstrating to the world around us the fruit of God’s Spirit who lives inside His followers.
Let us work hard day by day to purify our hearts when necessary and to strive always to have hearts filled with fruit that brings glory to God!