Read: Galatians 5:22
We feel uncomfortable when someone gives us something we didn’t ask for, and even more so when that something is of great value. Life feels lopsided, and we want to even things up. Worse yet, we become suspicious if we don’t know the giver well. “What’s the catch?” we ask.
We’re raised to believe we must work for what we want. “No pain, no gain.” Every religion in the world, other than Christianity, includes appeasement or stepping stones to earn the last reward. Only Christ’s followers enjoy forgiveness and salvation by doing nothing but embracing Jesus. We grow close to Him, and He is no longer a stranger whose motives we distrust. He not only saves us for eternity, but His Holy Spirit shows us with tools we need to grow more like Him.
It’s easy to love those we care about, but through the Holy Spirit, we can love others, strangers, even those who would do us harm. There is an unquenchable joy in our hearts, like an eternal flame, that burns even when it feels like our lives have gone off the rails.
Yet there are dry times that can hide that flame. But through faith and forbearance, we eventually come through those difficult periods, and when we look back, we see how Jesus was with us all the time. His Spirit brings us peace in chaos and holds us up as we face challenges. We find more joy in being kind, gentle, and good to others than in pursuing worldly pleasures. And while the world sings siren songs to lure us away from Jesus, we will not be shaken.
Indeed, Jesus has given us the greatest gift of all, and the “catch” is to accept His gift and simply follow Him.
Thank You, Jesus, for loving us enough to sacrifice Your life to bring us to Yourself to live for eternity as sons and daughters of the Father Most High. Let us never live below that privilege, but live as You would have us live, through the power of Your Holy Spirit.
