Fruit of the Spirit

I’ve noticed, lately, the usual settings on my computer have odd changes. One or two here, another one over there…nothing major or glaring but each one making a difference in how I am able to work on the computer. For instance, this morning’s oddity was that when opening a document to write this on, the page was about 4”s wide rather than the normal size page. No big deal but, why? Once I made the page the normal, the size of the font was set at 114%...makes it easier to read as I work but I never set the font there, so again I asked myself, why? The auto-spell check option is a reoccurring change, now that one does bother me. I use it all the time. I think faster than my fingers can type and I need to make sure I catch the odd misspelled word. Why I find it turned off now, when it was previously on all the time, I do not know. I have to reset the options before starting to work and I never had to do that before. If I did not know better, I would think the computer gremlins were dancing about on my keyboard making changes in the night.

This irritating issue has me perplexed but it is, after all, merely a perplexing issue in my work life. I am at the keyboard early every morning and most of the day. It seems as if my life is spent here but it is nothing in the big picture of life. It did occur to me that it is a parallel to what can happen in our spiritual life. We wake up one day to realize we have a glitch in our spiritual world, nothing big, more an irritation than major sin but it is there, and it has an affect on our daily life.

Let’s take frustration as an example, not I have any personal experience with this one…oh, give me a break, I’ve already asked for forgiveness for taking “artistic license” in representing myself in this sentence! **wink**.

Frustration, as I have dealt with it, is usually the result of a number of little issues joining hands to create a tidal wave where, on their own, would have been a ripple. You can brush off an irritating issue here, ignore another one over here but when they band together, you can end up with a full-blown case of frustration where your ‘spiritual fruit’ is squeezed to the point of rendering a ‘fruit’ juice mess. It is amazing how often we allow ourselves to wade around in the fruit juice mess feeling complete justification. Before you know it, you’re up to your knees in fruit juice because, after all, it isn’t your fault, – you have no choice, the situation is the reason you are squeezing fruit all over the place. As the day wears on, you’re worn down and it seems as if life, itself, is out to get you! Every stinking little thing gets on your nerves and you’re snapping at people for breathing. You are swept away by the tidal wave of spiritual fruit juice and you realize you are swimming with the pits.   

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Gal. 5:22,23).

When one is up to one’s neck in swirling bruised ‘spiritual fruit’ juice, it is difficult to remember we are to bear the fruit, not swim in the juice.