bananas on our plates, there are banana trees all around us and we often see a
woman walking down the street w/ a basket of bananas on her head. Bananas are a perfect example of how well taken care of we are in Rwanda…we have a cook who gives every day to serve us food (including bananas), do our laundry and our dishes…they will accept no help even when we beg, because their culture is to serve all guests in their home.
A few days ago my team was doing a Bible study in Galatians
5. It speaks of the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in
step with the Spirit.”
While in Africa I see JOY in the faces of children every
day. They literally come running full sprint with arms open wide to shower us
with their love and joyfulness. When we teach them songs and games they eagerly
drink in every word, every smile, every hug we give. What an honor to be around
such a JOYFUL people, such a LOVING culture. The African culture also runs on
another idea of “time”. They have no care if the bus takes 10 minutes or 2
hours to come its no problem either way. I love this about their culture; it
exemplifies PATIENCE to me and encourages me to be more patient in my life.
As I spend more time here in Rwanda studying Galatians I’ve
decided to start reading the book, “Forgotten God: reversing our tragic neglect
of the Holy Spirit” by Francis Chan. I’ve only just finished Chapter Four but
already am being challenged in many ways. Chan reminds us that if we claim to
be “new creations” in Jesus, that our lives should reflect that change. We have
the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, because Jesus says it is actually good for
Him to go away so that He can send ‘another’ to be with us always (John 14:16).
He challenges that since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit our lives should
look different than those in the world that live without it.
they look any different? Galatians reminds me that the way that my life should
look is by displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Just like the Africans I
encounter every day in Rwanda, my life should also be pouring our LOVE, JOY,
PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, and
SELF-CONTROL. If the non-believers that you know are living more of these
fruits out than you are…that should be convicting…I know it is for me!
Growing up I was
raised in a fairly conservative church setting, we really didn’t talk about the
Holy Spirit much at all. I knew He was a God but really never realized how
important knowing The Holy Spirit was in my life until I came on The World Race.
Living daily as a missionary, anything can come up on a daily basis, which
makes it absolutely essential to depend on The Holy Spirit. God made it
possible for His kingdom to come on this earth as Jesus prays in Matthew 6:
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” His kingdom
is seen in the working of The Holy Spirit in our lives. Do we display the
“fruits of the Spirit” as we live our lives every day…I’m not talking about
when we go to church on Sundays or go to Christian conferences or on year long
mission trips…is my day to day life
different because I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me or not?
Do our churches look any different because we have the Holy
Spirit? Are we living out life in the Spirit as Jesus intended for us? He says
that life with the Spirit is even better than if He was physically with us
(John 14). I think that’d be pretty sweet if Jesus was hanging out with me in
Rwanda right now in a physical sense. Instead though, He has given me the Holy
Spirit who lives within me and I believe what He says in John…He knew what He
was doing by sending His Spirit. I want every day that I live to be a display
of His Spirit at work in my life. As I sit and write this I am convinced that
these truths should change my life. The fact that I’m living completely
dependent on The Holy Spirit while on The Race, shouldn’t change how I live
when I get home in August, I want the things I am learning and living here to
affect how I live out my walk back in America whether that’s teaching 7th
grade history in Ashland, or whatever God calls me to in the next season of my
life.
producing fruit. I don’t want to settle for just a mediocre Christian life
where I acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s presence but do not experience and
exemplify the “new creation” I became when I accepted Jesus as Savior of my
life….
