I consider myself to be a motivated person.  I truly want to do right.  Most of the time I did what my parents expected of me (most of the time).  In school, I was a good student.  I studied and made good grades.  When I got married, I wanted to be a good wife, and then a good mother, doing all the things that I thought good wives and mothers did.  And of course, I wanted to be a good employee.  I tried hard, but felt like I always fell short.  I thought I could muscle through, using my powers of self-control which I must say were pretty good.   So there I was, a fairly driven person, and miserable.  “Good” as I was, I never felt that I was enough.

Several years ago, I remember reading 2 Peter 1:3-11.  The idea of a progression, beginning with faith, then doing good, increasing in knowledge and self-control, but then progressing to perseverance, then godliness, then mutual affection, and finally love, made so much sense to me. These qualities are echoed in the passage about the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23:

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

As a good Christian, I knew that I should be exhibiting all the fruits of the spirit, but I was treating them like they were the result of my own efforts to do good, thinking that I should be able to accomplish most anything through my powers of self-control.  Feeling frustrated, I continued to pray about this, and then the Holy Spirit revealed to me that self-control is actually one of the fruits of the Spirit (as it clearly states in the passage above).  I was going about it all wrong!  I thought I could possess the fruits of the Spirit through my own abilities, rather than realizing that I needed to recognize the Holy Spirit as the source, even of my self-control.  I also believe that the order of the fruits is intentional, with love being first and self-control being last.  Rather than powering through my to-do list, I needed to engage the Holy Spirit to help me to love God and others first and foremost. In fact, the passage in 2 Peter clearly says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life.” 

The passage in 2 Peter not only references a progression, but also “increasing measure” (v.8).  However, rather than instilling in me a frustration with never being good enough, instead I am now inspired to continually deepen my walk with God, knowing that my reward is not my goodness, but “a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”.

I pray that this message is an encouragement for us all.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude 20-21).

Blessings,

Judy