You probably saw that Pastor Glen will be beginning a new sermon series, “Fruit of the Spirit” this Sunday. It’s a topic we are familiar with, but one that I personally need to be reminded of…frequently.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Each aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit will be addressed individually, but I have a personal litmus test that tells me what degree of the Fruit of the Spirit I am experiencing. My litmus test is how I respond to traffic and people when driving, especially in traffic. I have noticed that when I’m consistently in The Word, prayer and fellowship, my response to challenging people is far more benevolent.  On the flip side of that, when my response is extreme irritation, I know that there is a deficiency in my spiritual practices. How I deal with traffic is a common indicator of the state of my spiritual life, but there are other indicators as well, responses to family, work, friends, enemies, politics, etc.

The next time you find yourself unproportionally upset, agitated or angry about something, try to step back and consider if it is really the situation, or if an aspect of your spiritual practices has been neglected.

If you need a reality check in regard to your experience of the Fruit of the Spirit, take a drive on the 405 at 5pm and let me know how it goes. 😊