The Spirit of Christianity

'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.' Galatians 5:22

Wouldn't it be strange if any of these characteristics were banned in a country? 'Joy is outlawed! There shall be no more kindness! Away with goodness! Ban gentleness!' It would be preposterous, yet the Source of these very traits is outlawed in many countries where the demonic spirit of evil and hatred reigns supreme. In passing, let me say that I've had my eyes opened in the last weeks to the increasing persecution of Christians in African/Middle-Eastern countries. The sheer brutality of crucifixions, kidnappings, beatings, rapes perpetrated mainly by Muslims defies description. The force behind these heinous crimes is nothing short of demonic and the spiritual void in Western countries is creating a platform for this hegemonic ideology to disseminate. We now have hundreds of indigenous Brits clamouring for jihad.

The Christian Spirit, however, is to the contrary. Christianity continues to be misrepresented by the evangelistic atheists of our time and is often placed into the same spectrum as Islam. Why they fail to recognize that the driving force behind extreme Islam is demonic baffles me. They are obviously deluded themselves. According to Richard Dawkins, evil does not exist. We are just dancing to the music of our DNA! If that is the case, we are badly out of tune.

These nine characteristics in Galatians 5:22 comprise one whole fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. If our lives are truly Spirit-filled and led, all will be visible in our conduct. I am pointing the metaphorical finger first and foremost at myself and my prayer this morning is for a complete filling of the Holy Spirit. Let us show the world the real spirit of Christianity! If some of these attributes are missing in our lives, then we need to bring our needy state before the Lord, repent and be filled with the Spirit. We cannot cultivate this fruit through our own efforts and there is no point in trying. Let us go to the Source of our faith and grow in the knowledge of our Lord through the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

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