Produces

This week, we are finishing Paul’s letter to Jesus followers in Galatia. Today, Paul provides a clear picture of who’s in charge.


Galatians 5
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.


Produces. I sometimes think we get more caught up in the questions of who God wants me to marry and what God wants me to do for a living and where God wants me to live ... when Jesus seemed to be more concerned with what our heart was producing (check out Luke 6:43-45). This passage provides a pretty clear picture of what our heart can produce ... it’s just a matter of who is in charge of production ... me or him. When I am in charge, I struggle with lust and anger and envy and jealousy. When God is in charge, I experience and (as we talked about yesterday) express love and peace and patience and self-control. What is your heart producing? If you don’t know, ask a trusted friend (or two) if they see more love or more lust, more peace or more anger, more patience or more envy, more self-control or more jealousy, more of God or more of you. If your poll numbers lean more to your side than God’s, maybe it is time for a change.