Is faith an aspect of love?

Let’s start with a trip down definition street: Pistis, in the Greek, refers to a divine guarantee of something, or being supernaturally persuaded or convinced of the truth of something revealed by God.

What has that do with the English word, “Faith”?

Well, here are the definitions put forth in the Webster’s Dictionary:

1a: allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty – lost faith in the company’s president

b(1): fidelity to one’s promises

2a(1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God

(2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion

b(1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof: clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return

(2): complete trust

3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction – especially: a system of religious beliefs the Protestant faith

on faith : without question – took everything he said on faith

faith

verb

believe, trust

I think what we are seeing here is another situation where the current understanding of the English equivalent doesn’t quite cover the whole of the Greek sense, like what we saw with patience a few weeks ago. I suppose that I can be forgiven for understanding this as being a comment on an expanded ability to be loyal to a person, concept, or on a far reach for third place, belief in God. I do like the archaic verbal form of the word, though, as I think that it conveys the Greek thought better than the nominal sense which we hear used so much more frequently, it is a trust in Divine revelation, and more importantly than that, even, in the character of God himself. It is active. It is the choice to obey, even when things just don’t make sense in the natural. Ooh, I could go on for DAYS on this one, but I’m gonna keep it short for the sake of time, and not turning a devotion into a sermon or a book. Ok, enough on definitions… let’s see if it fits to say that Faith is related to the love of God.

Is faith a part of agape love? I posit yes. Why? Agape is divinely revealed, through scripture, but most importantly, through personal experience and receiving rhema words from God (whether directly or through another of his kids). We have to be divinely persuaded that this is true, though, that there is a God who lives us each more than we could comprehend, and so much that no thing or person could separate us from it. That is BIG, isn’t it? Would you like to receive this faith? Operate in it? It is as simple as asking him to reveal Truth to you, through an encounter with Him. He will meet you, and He will give you the faith you need to believe what He tells and shows you. Faith is a gift, and is not simply a blind thing, as it is based on the character of God. If He is Good -and He is- then we can trust Him. It takes time to discern His voice from all of the others, but in a supportive, safe community, you can learn to hear very accurately. In fact, I would say that it will seem alien at first, but that is the path to maturity in the Lord and experiencing more agape to share with others, as well as growing in the rest of the Fruit. You will develop wisdom and discernment as you emphasize intimacy with the Lord in your life. I’ve digressed quite a bit here, but I think that this was important and also somehow supported my initial assertion that Love and Faith are strongly linked, even if not as clearly as some of the earlier fruit was.

So, having said that, how did this strike you? Did this different definition of Faith encourage you in a way that the notion of faithfulness, as taught traditionally, might not have? Faith as a fruit of the Spirit? Hmmm… Trust in God that grows like a fruit on a tree? Active trust as a gift, where it can grow in the love and fellowship which the Spirit provides? Trust which has a foundation in the character of God and His goodness? Hmmm…

In the name of Jesus, I call forth the fruit of faith to come into reality in our lives. Come and reveal your love to us today. Make us more readily able to obey you every day because we are flowing with the Holy Spirit. I break off the false belief that blinds us to your love, and hardens us to those around us. I plead Jesus’ blood over any and all who read this or watch the video. I release the truth to each and every one.

Amen.

What is Joy? Let’s get a solid, working definition before we do anything else, then I’ll tell you more about how joy is related to love, how it is something of a derivative (though I hesitate to call Joy derivative of anything, as in my mind, the term derivative carries a very negative connotation). So, what is Joy?

Webster’s dictionary defines it as
1 a: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight
b: the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
2: a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3: a source or cause of delight

To me, this is only a start to a good, biblical definition, as it is purely focused on a temporary emotional reaction to a situational stimulus that you find pleasing, but Joy, biblically speaking, that is lacks something, as the Joy discussed in the Bible is really a permanent thing because of the love shown us in God’s grace and mercy toward us. It buoys us in the midst of hard times because God’s outpouring of love for us is never changing, no matter what situations may try to tell us.
The Greek term translated as Joy is related to the word for gift or grace. The word for Joy is Chara, where the word typically translated as Grace or Gift is Charis, the translation is actually interrelated, because Chara actually carries the connotation of joy because of grace, according to Strongs Greek Concordance. Joy is a reaction or response to grace, which is undeserved love or favor.

Ok, so let me break that down in English… Joy is typically defined as a temporary reaction to something good that happens in your life. That is all well and good, but why would the Holy Spirit tell Paul to include such a temporary, typical reaction to passing things in his list of things that come as a result of the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives? There must be something more to it, and lo and behold, there is. The vocabulary used to express grace and joy share a common root in Greek: Char. Its definition is favor. Charis is undeserved favor (grace). Chara is joy because of favor. So, that means that joy can and should be a regular part of our life experience as people who are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, because we have Him, but also because of God’s history in our lives and world, and His current actions on our behalf which are in keeping with His character.

How can we grow in joy, then? How can we tap into this even in the midst of a PLANdemic? How did Paul have joy even in the pit of a prison in Philippi? The Holy Spirit works on the inside of us to heal, deliver, and strengthen us, and to sense His presence in and on us every day. These truths trump whatever situations we may be walking through. They allow us to walk in joy because we know that material situations are neither permanent nor truly real. We know that the REAL is actually that God is Good. That allows us to walk in joy, no matter what the bank says, no matter what the boss says, no matter what the doctor says. God’s goodness, His love, His grace, shown through the Cross and through His ongoing work of sanctifying and growing us into the very likeness of Jesus form the root of our joy in the face of lost income, threats of homelessness, or deteriorating health or relationships pushed to the brink from stress.

Wow, As I am writing this, the Presence is super thick in my living room… Holy Spirit wants to pour joy into us today, so place yourself in a mode of receiving and I am going to pray for us to be made more consciously aware of not only the Holy Spirit’s presence, but to receive greater levels of joy because we are constantly reminded of the goodness of God rather than meditating on the negative situations in life.

In the name of Jesus, I release the fruit of Joy over all who read or watch this devotion. Remind us of the goodness of God, of the evidence of your Love in our lives, and help us to focus on that rather than situations and narratives which swirl around us. Amen.

Is self-control really a fitting term in this context?

What might work better, being that this is a list of things that a life lived in the Holy Spirit will produce? Every other aspect or facet of a life lived in submission to agape love is outwardly focused, in terms of how that love is worked out expressing in relation to others: from joy, peace, long-tempered-ness, and being kind, to living virtuously and being meek rather than being a sourpuss, constantly agitated or anxious, ever-offended, mean, Corrupt, and smashing everyone around you because you can. See what I did there? More or less what the Holy Spirit led Paul to do earlier in Galatians 5, as a contrast to the life yielded to the Holy Spirit. Notice I didn’t include this week’s aspect, or its converse in my lists, as are Agape love & its opposite absent… this is not an oversight. It is intentional.
Hold onto your skivvies.
Don’t get them all in a bunch.
Here are my reasons:

1) to link the two more strongly in your mind & heart

2) to challenge calling this last aspect “self”-control.

Ok, so let’s tackle what I was saying about this term in the beginning… is “‘self’-Control” really a good fit in this list? Is a re-thinking in order? If the list is of fruit of a spirit-guided life, then why is the last thing on the list something that is often treated as a synonym for will-power? Does it make sense that the crowning aspect seems to have more to do with us, and our self-will & determination than with our Choice to be 100% submitted to the Holy Spirit? I contend that that term is better understood as living submission to The Holy Spirit. So what would a better phrase be? Rather than Self-Control, how about Full Submission?

What has this to do with Agape love? Logically, as we read or hear this list, it is important to contextualize it, and this whole list, as I mentioned earlier, is about what will be produced as a result of a laid – down life in relation to the Holy Spirit, rather than to the spirit of this age. The First thing to appear, then, is agape love, and the others items incarnate this reality, or show us what love really looks like in practice: joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, virtuous, meek, and ultimately moving us toward maturity in Christ. That is, being moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14-17). Those impulses are always characterized by love. Never vanity or conceitedness, anger, or insisting on our own way to the harm of others in any way. In this way, agape love and submission to the Holy Spirit are almost inextricably linked, and that is also a more biblically coherent term than self-control is.

Father,
As we wrap up this look at the Fruit of your Spirit in our lives, I submit myself to you and to the Holy Spirit afresh. Come, abide with me and cause these things to spring up in my life today. Let your love, joy, patience, Sweetness, peace, holiness, meekness, and a continued & deepened submission to you become hallmarks of my life, from now on.

Amen.

This might automatically bother some of you because of the connotations of those ideas in most circles. First things first, let’s stroll down
Word Study Way & find out what these terms mean in context, and reflect on whether they actually deserve their bad reputation, or if we need to be transformed still more by the renewing of our minds so that we can see them for the positive things they actually are. Then, we will examine whether meekness or gentleness can rightly be seen as aspects of Love that we are called to grow in as maturing children of God.
Alright, so what is it to be meek or gentle, here? Why does Paul include this in the fruit of the Spirit? The Greek term is Prauntes, which speaks to balancing strength while not overwhelming others through the way you relate to them… this is related to Fathers not being overbearing or exasperating toward your kids when disciplining them (Ephesians 5).
This flies in the face of human “might makes right” thought processes, and echoes the relational ethic of Jesus, who taught that the meek will inherit the earth.
So then, what is it to be meek? It is using strength with restraint, rather than simply exerting dominance or personal rights through Force. This is upside down From how most people operate and could be seen as weakness or a recipe for being taken advantage of, thus the bad connotation that this word has. True meekness & gentleness are hallmarks of beloved children of God who know that they have a good Father who will take care of them, no matter what. Is that really such a negative thing?
OK, so how does this restrained strength relate to love? Love does not bash others over the head with its strength… it applies it judiciously, and never with intent to harm the object of love. love is meek, not weak. Love can a will throw down with any enemy who threatens the beloved. Love’s strength, when applied toward the beloved, Must be tempered with patience & kindness.
Holy Spirit,
come teach us how to be meek, not weak.
Show us how vengeance belongs to you when someone hurts one of your kids. Help us to let go of our desire for revenge.
Teach us gentleness today as we press into you. In Jesus’ name

Amen.

What has goodness to do with Love? Well, let’s break down what goodness meant to Paul and his readers in Thessoloniki, Corinth, Galatia, and Rome.

For us, in English, Goodness has to do with uprightness, good moral character, and the like. This is a close echo of this fairly unique word form of Agathos in the Koine of the day. So well, that word study was short…

What does morality have to do with love? If love is kind, gentle, humble, patient, and prefers others over self, then that sounds pretty darn moral, doesn’t it? That sounds more than just “good”, it sounds excellent. This is why goodness, in the fruit of the Spirit, is an aspect, or outgrowth of love. When we love perfectly, others become our primary concern, so we don’t do things that might inconvenience or hurt others, like lie, cheat, steal, or kill intentionally, it doesn’t even give quarter to things like envy or strife, or even offense leading to anger, bitterness, or resentment.

This is not to say that perfect love is humanly achievable here on earth, but as we grow in the likeness of Jesus, those hurts which cause us to hurt others, whether through action or inaction, spoken (idle) words, or even stray thoughts, become healed and we transform into little Christs. And the idea of fruit is that it grows when cultivated, just as we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, through the washing of water and the Word. This is the process of sanctification, becoming good as Christ is Good, perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect. Let me pose this question in closing… why would you say that morality or goodness, in this case, is not directly related to love?

Father,

Come and help me to be more receptive to the Holy Spirit’s shaping into the likeness of Christ. Help me to be a fertile place where goodness can grow in greater abundance. Bring your Holy Fire to cleanse and sanctify me even more today. That love would be my default rather than whatever flavor of hurt I may be experiencing on a given day. Help me to truly consider others above myself today, to cease to enforce what I would otherwise feel entitled to today, but instead give others their true due according to Heaven’s estimation. Give me your heart so that I can operate in goodness more today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What is kindness? How does one act in a kindly way? How is love related to kindness? Is it at all? Can one be kind, but not loving? Or loving, but unkind? Let’s find out.

Kindness, tautologically, is the state or nature of being kind. So, what does it mean to be kind? Websters?

1a: of a sympathetic or helpful nature (eg:  was helped by a kind neighbor; They were very kind to us.)

b: of a forbearing nature : gentle (eg: kind treatment of animals)

c: arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance  a kind act (eg: a kind smile)

2: of a kind to give pleasure or relief (eg: cooled by a kind breeze)

Ok, so when one is kind, they operate from a place of compassion or sympathy for another, perhaps also patient or gentle toward another. That seems pretty loving to me. The Greek term used is Chrestotes, which carries the connotation of goodness to offset human cruelty… meeting real needs in God’s way and timing. Kind and Good at the same time… useful kindness, not just words, but actions that rectify situations which arise from human cruelty without causing cruelty to anyone else.

So, how is this connected with love? What is love? Let’s look back to the beginning of these devotions, 5 weeks ago… Love is patient and kind, it does not envy or boast, it believes the best and doesn’t keep record of wrongs… it never seeks to injure another. In other words, kindness is a portion of what love is, according to 1 Corinthians 13. So, can one be kind without being loving? I don’t think that that is a possibility. If kindness is a portion of what love is, then logically, one cannot be kind without being loving. However, one could logically be loving without being kind, just because kindness is not the same as the whole of being loving. So, let’s do a thought experiment, and imagine a loving act which is not also kind… wow, this is hard… the sort of kindness involved with this verse requires the act to be “useful” and to meet real needs, not just be a symbolic gesture which doesn’t really meet any needs. Can’t really think of a time when you can be loving but unkind. Can you? Let me know in the comments.

Jesus,

Help me to grow in kindness today. Help me to be tender-hearted to those around me, so that l am always looking for ways to be genuinely kind toward others. Encounter me today, shake me out of complacency and self-absorption so that I can really see others in their needs and give me the insight to know how to meet those needs according to the resources you’ve given to me to manage.

Amen.

How is Peace related to Love? How is it an aspect of Grace, just as Joy is? First, we’re going to define peace, then I’ll show you that, and give you a quick list of ways that you can be more peaceful.

Biblical Peace is a very deep topic. There are a few words in each the Hebrew and the Greek which are typically rendered as “Peace” in English. The word that Paul used in Galatians 5:22 was a pretty standard word throughout the New Testament, particularly in his letters, often appearing in greetings and closings. It is the Greek term eirene, which has connotations of interpersonal harmony, salvation, the tranquil state of the Christian’s soul. In Hebrew, the main one is Shalom, which carries the connotation of blessing to the point of wholeness in all areas of life, and I would hazard a guess that this thought more than likely colored this former pharisee’s use of eirene in the Greek.

So, now that I have given a basic working definition of the term, what does that have to do with Love? Love, shown through grace, brings us peace because we can know that we are accepted 100% in Christ. There is no need to have fear (of punishment or personal judgment) toward God, because His Love is always toward us, working all things for our good (Romans 8:28). Not that we know how it will work out in the moment, but we know that it will. We can be at peace in the love of God, in the grace He has granted us, not only in each breath and heartbeat, but in the Reality of His promises for us. We can be at peace in the Truth of His acceptance of us in Christ.

That is how we can have peace, even when the news tells us that everything is burning and that we need to be anxious about every little thing. This is also how we can avoid the offense trap, which also steals our peace, because we become myopic on that which has offended (or continues to do so), rather than on Him, who is our peace.

Step 1:
Focus your attention on Heaven. Fix your eyes on Jesus, emphasize what ever is Good, what ever is True, What ever is Right, What ever is Pure, What ever is of Good Repute, What ever is Worthy of Loving, What ever is Upright, What ever is Worthy of Enthusiastic Praise… anything that does not fit in these paradigms is not worth your time or effort, and will ultimately destroy your peace (Philippians 4:8). Turn off the news, which is designed to hook us into a cycle of hyper-anxiety, and have peace no matter what Maddow, Lemon, and Cooper say… or Hannity, Carlson, and Ingraham for that matter. They are all implicated in this. That is not the point of this devotion, though. The point is showing you how to be at peace regardless of what is in the atmosphere.

Step 2:
Live a life of prayer and praise. This is not some pious, holier-than-thou mumbo-jumbo, what it is is simply this: what you focus on you empower. What you meditate on gains power over you. What do you want to grant to power in your life? Heaven, or hell? Peaceful things or fearful things? The promise is that when your life revolves around constant communion with God, His peace will overcome you, beyond all understanding, and guard your heart and mind in Him.(Philippians 4:6-7)

Lord,
By your precious blood, I command peace to come over all who read or listen to this. You paid for my shalom, and I repent of believing otherwise. I repent for filling my head and heart with news stories which inspire anything but peace. I ask that you would show me those things which are in keeping with Philippians 4:8 today. Help me to keep my mind on You above all the other noise today. When anxiety does start to creep in, I bring it under subjection to the mind of Christ, and choose to thank you for those “whatsoevers”, to lift up those requests before your throne, and take authority whenever it is mine to exercise, to change the situation(s) which are seeding anxiety in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.