God is Love
Galatians 5:22-23
"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against these things there is no law." A few years ago, Caroline, my five year old granddaughter, and I were in my car running errands. She was very chatty, and we had some very interesting conversations. On our way home, Caroline suddenly responded to something I said by putting her hands on her hips, shaking her head, and with great emotion puckered her lips and said, "Grandmother I don't even know if there even IS a God! You can't see him, and I don't know if He is there!"
Before I had time to think how to answer, the Holy Spirit reached out to help me. Just as Jesus taught us in Luke 12:12, "For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you ought to say." I looked up, and we were passing a post office. I heard myself saying, " Caroline, do you see that American flag?" "Yes", she answered. Then I asked her, "Do you see it blowing in the wind?" "Yes," she said again. "Do you see the wind?" I asked. "No," she answered. "Then how do you know there is wind?" She answered, "Because I can see it moving the flag!"
"Well," I said, "like you don't see the wind, but you see it moving the flag...so it is with God. The Bible tells us 'God is love.' When a person is filled with love (that is God) you see God, (love) through a person's actions. The Bible calls these actions fruit. What you see is a person filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control: the fruit of the Spirit." Today, when we are all living under the strange and confining circumstances brought about by the coronavirus, we know that we have the Holy Spirit to help us through the difficulties imposed upon us. We have time now to read God's Word, think, pray and become stronger in love. Let us pray: "Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." (BCP 100)