While I was driving to work today, a thought occurred to me that I hope you will find encouraging. The “fruits of the Spirit” are identified as those nine virtues or qualities that mark the life of the true Christian (Gal. 5:22-23):
- Love (agape)- ahavah. This is the very first fruit.
- Joy (chara)- simcha
- Peace (eirene) – shalom
- Longsuffering (makrothumia) - savlanut; patience; perseverance; constancy
- Gentleness (chrestotes) - mercy and grace; chesed
- Goodness (agathosune) - generosity; nedivut lev
- Faith (pistis) – trust; emunah
- Meekness (praotes)- humility; anavah
- Temperance (egkrateia)- self-control; hatznea lechet
Notice something important, however. These are fruits of the Spirit (Ruach), not fruits of human self-improvement programs or self-effort, regardless of how well-intended such may be. The life of the Spirit of God is His life, after all, and we partake of it as a miracle within our hearts. It is a shared life that draws upon God’s Spirit and expresses back to Him what is freely given by Him.
Since these middot (attributes) are qualities that only God truly possesses, we understand that they constitute God’s own disposition toward those of us who are trusting in Him for salvation in our lives. In other words, God is loving toward us; He expresses joy regarding us; He is patient and full of mercy and grace toward us…
Among other things, Yom Kippur means that God’s gracious provision of Jesus offered at Moriah is a free gift of obtaining everlasting forgiveness and acceptance. Just as we are justified by means of emunah (faith), so we are “sanctified” by trusting in His present provision for our daily lives.