Pursue Holiness: Love, Joy, Peace

The vast majority of us have not grown up in an agricultural community. Unlike our Hebrew ancestors, we don’t have much experience walking through orchards full of fruit-laden branches, much less working long harvest days. 

But for Jesus and His first century audience, the regular rhythms of sowing and reaping would have been shared experiences. Even the non-farmers would have had a knowing appreciation of what it took to grow the fruit of trees, plants, and vines. Because everyone in His day would have understood, Jesus often pulled from the agrarian-life metaphors to describe the abiding life.

So when Jesus says, “a tree is identified by its fruit” we are meant to connect the dots that “if a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad” (Mattew 12:33 NLT). In context, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees when He says this, and they appear like pretty great ‘trees’. But when we look past their flowing robes, we see their actual fruit – self-righteousness (see Matthew 23:27). 

Paul picks up this theme in our Fruit of the Spirit chapter, contrasting the ‘good’ fruit of a person living in and by the Spirit with the ‘bad’ fruit of someone living for self:

“Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness.”

Galatians 5:17 MSG

In the end, a bad ‘tree’ cannot produce good ‘fruit’. Only those spiritually rooted in Christ can bear Fruit of the Spirit.  

No matter which ‘tree’ we think we might be, we are known by our fruit. And that’s why it’s so important that we remain in Christ. Our abiding in Him means we’re living by the Spirit; all the good fruit pushes out the bad, allowing spiritual fruit to flourish in us, through us, to others.

Paul’s illustration helps us recognize the Fruit of the Spirit in ourselves and others. “Unlike the plural ‘works’ of the flesh, this singular fruit depicts a unified, Christlike life wrought by the Spirit.”¹ Nine fruit, one life. Nine ways we can grow and mature to be like Christ. Nine traits to help us flourish for the Kingdom and with one another.

So for a few minutes, let’s imagine ourselves walking through a fruit-laden garden with God; we lean-in to gaze a little more closely at some of the ‘good’ fruit we see: love, peace, and joy.  

Love, First and Most

No other Fruit of the Spirit gets the attention in Scripture like ‘love’. It is the first and most important command (Matthew 22:37-39). It’s who God is and His motivation for sending Jesus to us (1 John 4:16). It’s the greatest of all gifts (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

‘Love’ is so significant that some scholars have studied the original Greek of Galatians 5:22 and believe it reads, “the Fruit of the Spirit is love” – period.² They see love as so singular that the other eight traits flow from it.³ Of course, that wouldn’t mean the other eight aren’t good fruit; it’s really more about how important love is. 

This is agape love, godly love that will forever remain unconditional and unselfish, constant and fully committed (see 1 Corinthians 13). It’s a love that bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things (v.7 NLT). ‘Love’ chooses to act on behalf of others, for their good and for the greater good.³ 

“This divinely sourced, life-giving concept of love permeates the whole Bible.”³ This is not the fickle love of the world; nor is it a warm-fuzzy, avoid-all-conflict kind of love. This Love flows with “gentleness, mercy, and honesty” even as it stands diametrically opposed to evil, giving itself over to death so that we can have life.¹ 

Agape love can be an emotion, but mostly it’s action! It’s God drawing close to us even when we fail to seek Him. It’s Jesus dying for us when we were still sinners. Paul prays we will root ourselves in agape love so that we’ll know the depths of His love and the power that comes with it, both of which lead to the fullness of God in us – fullness of Spirit, nature, love (Ephesians 3:17-19).

As ‘images of God’ who hold within us His Spirit, we contain the capacity to love like this – not from our experience or wisdom or power, but from God Himself. So if we don’t see ourselves loving others in our daily lives, we must look to Holy Spirit for His sanctifying help so that the first-and-foremost-identifiable fruit of love flows in us and from us, marking us as Jesus’ disciples (1 John 4:20; John 13:35; 15:9-17). Such good fruit reveals good trees.

Joy, Making Us Complete

Spiritually speaking, joy can feel like happiness in the moment – like the joy of beholding the beauty of nature or of holding a new baby. But as a Fruit of the Spirit, ‘joy’ more often rises up as a deep gladness no matter the circumstance. It’s more supernatural than situational, more of an “inner realism” than an outward reality.⁴ “Joy is that deep inner conviction that though things are not right, everything is going to be alright.”⁴ 

The fruit of joy can be cultivated in our hearts and souls by all the means Jesus describes during His speech on that last night with His disciples (John 13-17). In fact, tucked within the Vine and branches passage of John fifteen, Jesus speaks His purpose. We ask, Why does Jesus tell us to love God, to abide in His love, and to bear good fruit? He responds:

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 15:11 NLT

If we want true, spiritual joy – the kind that Paul experienced from the pit of a Roman prison – we do everything Jesus tells us, not to earn salvation but to delight in our Savior: 

• We believe Jesus – His love and His life given for us. 
• We trust and surrender to the Spirit’s work in our hearts and minds. 
• We soak ourselves in Scripture and keep its commands. 
• We abide. We obey. We love.⁵ 

Jesus tells us to live this way so that we’ll have His joy in our hearts, so that our joy will be complete. In the Greek, ‘complete’ is a type of verb that declares “present possession grounded in Christ’s finished work.”⁶ In other words, what Jesus did on the cross and through His resurrection is finished. And because of that work, we now possess Christ-like grace and joy. Eugene Peterson describes this ‘completed’ joy as something we are ‘full of’ and that no one can take from us (John 16:24 MSG). And just thinking about these truths can usher in joy!

The spiritual fruit of joy can even flourish in lives that face incredible hardship. But not because the experience or the cause of such trials are good but because abiding believers embrace the fact that they have Christ in them, that they’re being formed into people who are complete and lack nothing in Him.¹ ‘Joy’ does not negate pain or grief, but it is “possible for joy to accompany any difficult circumstance when we trust that God’s ongoing work is happening and always bringing ‘beauty from ashes’ (Isa. 61:3).”¹ 

I have come to appreciate that word, ‘accompany’, during this season where many days I feel deep sadness and joy. It has been a journey for me to get to the place where I’m okay with holding both emotions at the same time – because for some reason, I naturally operate from the belief that one emotion reigns at a time. But, as is often the case in this abiding life, we’re invited into a both-and way of experiencing Christ. 

Friends, Christ’s joy has already been given to us, and it can accompany us along life’s path, no matter what other emotions we also carry.

Peace Like a River and a Walk on Water

I spent several hours one afternoon talking through some life challenges with the Lord – all as I walked alongside a river. A very peaceful, inviting river. It made me think of the opening lines to the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Being on that riverbank, peace certainly attended my soul. 

So when we consider what the spiritual fruit of ‘peace’ looks like, it’s good to imagine the peace we experience as we stand at the edge of a lovely river – for it’s this kind of peace we long for when we’re in the midst of stress and overwhelm, as well as for all the anxiety we carry. At the heart of spiritual ‘peace’ is the gently-flowing-river feeling; it’s a wholeness like the shalom of the Old Testament. Such perfect peace exists even as we experience life’s heartaches and heart-racing moments.

Jesus demonstrated this ‘peace’ the day He slept on a cushion in the back of a boat that thrashed in a life-threatening storm (Mark 4:37-39). Jesus longed for Peter to have this ‘peace’ as he walked upon the wind-strewn, wave-filled waters (Matthew 14:28-31). It’s this Spirit-sourced peace Jesus gifts His followers (John 14:27). It’s the peace He extends to all believers so that we can face the overwhelming world and all its trials without being overtaken by it all (John 16:33). 

We can live “unshakable and assured, deeply at peace” because ‘we know that we know’ Jesus has gone before us and made a way; He has conquered the world and given us His sustaining peace (v.33 MSG). 

In this way, we begin to embrace the fact that biblical, godly peace is not just the absence of conflict or stress; it’s the peace in the midst of chaos. It’s peace within us and peace with those around us.¹ The fruit of peace comes from living rooted in God’s love, trusting that He will care for every one of our needs in the present, in the future, and even for eternity.⁷ It’s a peace of mind – and heart and soul. 

And so, each time we are tempted to succumb to worry or panic, we take all our concerns to the throne room of God. We name them and lay them at His feet, speaking the truths that He is sovereign over everything, His authority bows to no one else, and He will give us everything we need to endure and persevere in faith, with hope.¹ It’s why Paul coaches us to “be anxious for nothing”, but instead, to pray with thankful hearts to our God who listens, who is present, who sent His Son to die so that we might walk this earth without the burden of heavy worries (Philippians 4:6-7). He promises to help us carry such loads, just as He promises us His peace – a peace that cannot otherwise be explained or understood (Matthew 11:28-29).

Friends, it’s our roles in the lives we’ve been given to remain in God’s love and to look to God in every single situation. It’s our task to seek Holy Spirit’s help and comfort and strength ‘again and again’, as my friend, Em, would say.⁸ It’s our ongoing blessing to remain in God’s Word and presence because in the abiding, we are moved toward genuine, heart-felt obedience. As we obey, we discover the ability to trust our Lord. And such trust means we can walk on water – despite our fear and even as the waves threaten to sink our faith; we walk toward our Savior who holds His arms and heart wide open to us, ready to pour, once again, His love and joy and peace into our spirits.

What a hope-filled, glorious picture of living in and for Christ, a picture of living from the Fruit of the Spirit.

Father God, we choose today and everyday to root ourselves in your love and to allow that love to fuel and source our faith in You. Lord Jesus, we choose to live out that faith just as You did, filled with Holy Spirit and His divine fruit. We can see the way You loved every person You met, with grace and truth, with healing and hope – even those who opposed You. We also see the joy You carried into every interaction and situation because You were so confident of the Father’s love and plan. We are in awe of the peace that held You steady in storms and in the face of betrayal, a death You did not deserve. The way You lived your life on earth shows us how to do the same: by the Spirit. Holy Spirit, we choose to invite You to refresh and refuel us each and every day so that we step into every situation filled with your presence – your love and joy and peace – trusting that You are not only with us but forever ready to equip and empower us to love others well, to obey the Father with the joy of our salvation, and to keep believing Jesus for who He is with the peace only He can provide. It’s in His holy name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Ephesians 3:16-19; Luke 4:1, 11:13; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:22-23; John 14:26; Romans 5:5; Psalm 51:12; John 15:11, 16:24; Philippians 4:6-7)

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – Biblehub for the Greek word for ‘fruit’, specifically the Fruit of the Spirit 
• 2 – JD Walt is not the first Bible scholar to see the fruit of love as the singular Fruit of the Spirit, but how he talks about it helps us see why this might be the case. “The fruit of the Spirit is love—agape love to be precise. Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control are like the facets on the many faceted diamond of love.”
• 3 – The Bible Project article on “The Fruit of the Spirit” goes into some detail on each of the traits/fruit. It also quotes another biblical scholar, Ernest DeWitt Burton, as saying Paul sees love as “the source from which all the rest flow.”
• 4 – JD Walt’s 5/2/21 Wake Up Call on joy.
• 5 – I ran across a sweet blog called Scripture Paths that does a nice job of working through each verse of John 15, demonstrating how each command leads to joy.
• 6 – Biblehub for ‘complete’ in Greek
• 7 – A LifeChurch article on “The Fruit of the Spirit”
• 8 – My dear friend, Em Tyler, is about to release her very first book, and it is aaaaalllllll about this way of coming to God ‘again and again’ as His children, as believers in Christ. Faith is not a one and done action; it’s an ongoing practice of returning to the Father, of looking to Jesus, of asking Holy Spirit to fill us afresh. This book, and this life in Christ, are all about The Power of Again – which I highly recommend to you. You can pre-purchase here.
• Three songs on our Spotify playlist, Pursue Holiness, help us to enter into the truth and reality of the spiritual fruit of love, joy, and peace. Matthew Smith’s rendition of the hymn, “Here Is Love,” washes us with the beauty of Love’s cleansing, healing, and drawing-to-God nature. Citizens’ worship song, “Joy to Be,” brings to the forefront the truth of Joy’s power to decrease us and increase God in our lives so that He fills us evermore. And, Housefires’ song, “Peace of God,” surrounds us with words of truth about Peace’s way of anchoring us in Christ even as we stand on life’s battlefields. Y’all — we need songs like this to continuously wash over us so that we live with these truths soaking our thoughts, so that we live by Truth — with love, joy, and peace!
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
• Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.

• As we progress in this fall series, we’ll be talking more and more about the rhythms we can engage in as the ‘means of grace’. Such rhythms are not tools to earn grace or holiness; rather, they’re active disciplines we enter into with Holy Spirit; they’re ways or places we can be transformed by God’s holiness.. Very simply, the ‘means of grace’ are outward practices we employ in order to be more fully shaped by God’s life; in other words, they are the ‘means’ to being and living holy.
  
  A fifth ‘means of grace’ practice that helps us abide in Christ is that of getting out into the world, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked — full of Christ’s love, with Christ’s joy, and sharing Christ’s peace. These flow from us to others, assuring them that Jesus is who He says He is. That He cares and wants to meet their needs.

• We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!

Featured Photo by Katya Azimova on Unsplash
“All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Victoria Soldaska on Unsplash.
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