"I don't understand fruitcake. It doesn't make sense. Fruit…good. Cake…great. Fruitcake…nasty crap."
– Jim Gaffigan
If you're willing, I'd like to go spiritually deep for just a minute. I'll assume you said, "okay." (Never a wise move, but I'll work on wisdom later.) I just had my mind blown by Graham Cooke. Then I connected it with something I've had incubating in my head for awhile. Then my mind was blown again. Now that I've stopped telling everyone in earshot about it, I wanted to share it with you. It's short, simple and sweet. Stick with me.
"I have found the fruit of the Spirit is actually a more powerful weapon against the enemy than the gifts of the Spirit…You can defeat the enemy by learning to live in peace. You can overwhelm the enemy by living in joy. You can weary him by your grace. You can depress him by the love, and the kindness, and the patience that's actually present in your life." -Graham Cooke
Graham goes on to say the enemy doesn't have patience. That patience is a characteristic of God. I also think that probably applies to the other fruits of the Spirit. The enemy doesn't have love, or peace, etc. So…think about what he's saying here. LIVING this way (being someone of peace, of grace, of patience) SHUTS THE ENEMY DOWN. Because nothing he has at his disposal is as powerful as these things, as they are the characteristics of God Himself.
Cooke also says, "The nature of God, which makes us Christ-like, is the very thing that overwhelms the enemy." Booya. That is fantastic. Mind, blown.
Don't get me wrong…I love the gifts of the Spirit. I think they're needed and fantastic and incredibly powerful…but I think ol' Graham is right. And I'm not so sure I'd ever thought about it that way. The patience displayed through me could WEAR OUT the enemy. Exasperate him! The grace poured out of me could actually foil his plans. The love brought to a situation through me could cause the enemy to FLEE IN FEAR! Because the fruits of the Spirit are MORE POWERFUL than any characteristics the enemy is capable of.
Which then leads us to the question of how do we become awesome at displaying these characteristics? I think one way, and probably the most common is simply to practice them. To practice patience in situations. It's like working out. If you want to exercise your "patience musucles" you have to use them…which can be difficult and tiring…but builds strength. Same for the other fruits. (I think this tends to be the default way we try to develop these characteristics in ourselves.)
BUT
I think there is also a deeper approach, that is actually richer, and more beneficial. Because, really, the fruits of the Spirit are the exiting point not the entrance point. They're a result. A result of what? Of passionate, intimate and genuine relationship with God as Holy Spirit.
"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit…" (Galatians 5:16.)
Walk by the Spirit, and fruit will grow. Walk by the Spirit. Walk by the Spirit. THAT'S the starting point, the entering in point. That's where you begin if you want to develop the characteristics of God…by being WITH God. By living with Him. Through relationship. Relationship….passionate and genuine relationship, full of trust and love. That is the key to it all.
Want to become a powerful spiritual warrior? Want to become "MORE than a conqueror"? Then walk with God. Let all else be secondary. Even the growth you think you "must" maintain.
The powerful ones aren't trying to be powerful. They're simply getting to know God more and more intimatley. They're becoming better and better friends. To be powerful, you have to let go of trying to be powerful, and simply seek out a deeper personal relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Savior and Holy Spirit more and more and more. Walk with God closely, personally and sweetly, and the rest will naturally follow suit.
(Yup. It's still blowing my mind.)
