Many verses come to my mind this early Sunday morning, the 39th day in my 40-day journey to the heart of the Father.
Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies,
it remains alone;
but if it dies, it produces much grain.
He who loves his life will lose it,
and he who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life.
- John 12:24, 25
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law...
-Galatians 5:22, 23
If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.
- Galatians 5:25
A favorite quote from Henri Nouwen about being vulnerable:
Fruits that Grow in Vulnerability
There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control, and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.
Gentleness and kindness are part of the fruit of the Spirit.
So are goodness and peace.
The Spirit is tending the ground of our hearts that His whole fruit will grow. Only one fruit, not nine. All the nine spiritual characteristics are in the fruit.
How beautiful to behold that fruit must be. How much more when the Spirit has grown it in our own hearts... others are drawn to us.
Our presence becomes an invitation... not an imposition.
The tender heart... how beautiful it is!
For that is how Abba Father created Adam and Eve...
Vulnerable, dependent on God their Maker.
Connected to Him as their Life Source.
But with the fall in the Garden came independence... Self-dependence.
And Self pride.
Above all Self-consciousness.
My rules. My programs. My agenda.
My way.
And with it came Self-protection.
"Don't disappointment Me."
"Don't break My rules."
Self became its own god. Worship Me. Please Me. Obey Me.
And the heart became trapped in a wall of its own making...
A wall built with brick after brick of Self-sufficiency and Self-striving.
How beautiful the hearts that are vulnerable.
Sharing one another's brokenness.
Touching one another's wounds.
Fill my heart Abba Father, with compassion...
may it be tender and kind...
willing to overlook a fault...
not easily offended...
choosing instead to forgive... just as I am, we... all of us... are, in constant need of being forgiven.
Let there be no more resentment,
no more anger or temper,
no more violent self-assertiveness,
no more slander and nor more malicious remarks.
Be kind to each other,
be understanding.
Be as ready to forgive others
as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
- Ephesians 4:32 J.B. Philips New Testament
And become useful and helpful and kind to one another,
tenderhearted
(compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted),
forgiving one another
(readily and freely),
as God in Christ forgave you.
-Ephesians 4:32 Amplified Bible
How beautiful the tender eyes
That chose to forgive and never despise...
How beautiful when humble hearts give...
This song touches my heart deeply this morning:
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