When I was in first grade my teacher assigned all the girls in our class a fruit of the spirit for a song. We had to make a sign for ours and hold it up when the song said our fruit. Mine was "Self-Control". I never really thought about the true meaning and characteristics of each one. So I looked into all of them, here's what I learned.
Love; An intense feeling of deep affection.
What is love? Love is a very overused word that people don't completely understand how strong it's meaning really is. You can easily say "I love you" to people or a boyfriend/girlfriend when you don't really know the true meaning of the word. To love someone is to truly care for them but also to have a deep affection for them. true love doesn't come fast or easy but it comes when it's true. God loves us more than anyone ever will. Our family falls right under that. Your future wife/husband comes next. After that there's close friends. Love is strong. Before you tell someone you love them, stop and think. Do you really love them or are you just saying it to say it?
Joy; A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
It is so easy to lose joy in your life when you lose a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend or a family member or when your parents get divorced. It is so important to remember the true joy in your life, God. Everything else is just extra. Look at your life right now. Count it all joy (James 1:2). If you lose God, you lose joy. If you have God, you have joy.
Peace; Freedom from disturbance
Worrying is something we all do. It is natural for us to worry about everything. especially as a teenager. What we don't do, because it can honestly be hard is give all our worries to God. There's no reason to worry but we do anyways. God can give us peace if we just trust that He has a plan and that we don't need to worry.
Patience; The capacity to accept or tolerate delay or trouble without getting angry.
God has a plan for all of us. We tend to crave the "perks of being in a relationship". example- cuddling, dates, etc but what we sometimes forget is that we are valuable and we shouldn't just date anyone who likes us. God has the one for us and we just have to be patient.
What is love? Love is a very overused word that people don't completely understand how strong it's meaning really is. You can easily say "I love you" to people or a boyfriend/girlfriend when you don't really know the true meaning of the word. To love someone is to truly care for them but also to have a deep affection for them. true love doesn't come fast or easy but it comes when it's true. God loves us more than anyone ever will. Our family falls right under that. Your future wife/husband comes next. After that there's close friends. Love is strong. Before you tell someone you love them, stop and think. Do you really love them or are you just saying it to say it?
Joy; A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
It is so easy to lose joy in your life when you lose a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend or a family member or when your parents get divorced. It is so important to remember the true joy in your life, God. Everything else is just extra. Look at your life right now. Count it all joy (James 1:2). If you lose God, you lose joy. If you have God, you have joy.
Peace; Freedom from disturbance
Worrying is something we all do. It is natural for us to worry about everything. especially as a teenager. What we don't do, because it can honestly be hard is give all our worries to God. There's no reason to worry but we do anyways. God can give us peace if we just trust that He has a plan and that we don't need to worry.
Patience; The capacity to accept or tolerate delay or trouble without getting angry.
God has a plan for all of us. We tend to crave the "perks of being in a relationship". example- cuddling, dates, etc but what we sometimes forget is that we are valuable and we shouldn't just date anyone who likes us. God has the one for us and we just have to be patient.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
[Galatians 5:22-26]