But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22,23
White carnations grew in a hedge outside the little one-room schoolhouse that I attended in my childhood. Those carnations provided us with some interest material for experiments. The teacher had us bring some in and place in bottles of water. First, we dyed the water different colours by soaking crepe paper in the bottles. In a surprisingly short time, we had lovely carnations in a variety of hues: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The flowers drew the necessary water up their stems, and the colour in the water became visible in the petals. You and I are like flowers; we draw our nourishment from a source, and the colour of that source determines what colour we are as Christians.
We know that if we invest our time and efforts in the world’s putrid waters, our lives as Christians will be negatively affected. Just as bad water would make a carnation wilt, so too will bad companions, bad environments, and bad pursuits spoil the life of a Child of God. But the clean, fresh water of the Word of God will cause us to grow straight and healthy. And the Spirit can use that Word to bring out the holy colours in our lives.
Love is the first of the fruits our text mentions. Love is a direct result of allowing the Holy Spirit to direct us; love to our God, to our fellow believers, and for the lost souls of those about us. As we draw the water of the Word into our souls, we will be changed to display the love of God. The same is true for all of these wonderful fruits of the spirit listed in our text.
After we had dyed the water, there was no way to prevent the colour of that dye from being drawn up into the carnations. Unless we simply did not place the carnations into the water. If we abide in the Word of God, there is no way we can prevent the Spirit of God from changing us into that which God desires for us. Unless we withdraw ourselves from the Word.
What is in the water that is sustaining you today? The dirty cisterns of this world will do you nothing but harm. The pure springs of the Word of God will do you nothing but good, transforming your life like a carnation into the spiritual colour that God wants you to be. -Jim MacIntosh