Author: WordfortheWay.com

“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.”

Ephesians 3:16-18 (TLB)

When we become believers our priorities are changed. Our inner person desires to be more like Christ–in every aspect of life. The love of God, which is the highest of all Christian virtues, takes up residence in our heart. This type of love is a generous, unselfish, sacrificing type of love. It is a love that is given even if it is undeserved, misunderstood, rejected, trampled on, and not returned.

Garvin R. Alfter

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” –Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” –Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” –1 John 3:17 (NKJV)

The love of God in us is not stagnant. Rather, it is alive and vibrant and stays alive by constantly reaching out to others in love.

Garvin R. Alfter

“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” –Thessalonians 3:12-13 (KJV)

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”
—Henry Drummond

Our testimony and our witness are enhanced when we manifest the love of God to our world.

Can you imagine what a difference would be made in our lives, our families, our churches and our communities if we would love as He loved us?

God’s love is what the Apostle Paul described as an unfeigned love; that is a love that is without hypocrisy. (1 Corinthians 6:6 KJV)

Garvin R. Alfter

“Love must be without hypocrisy.” –Romans 12:9 HCSB

“Let love be genuine.” –Romans 6:9 ESV

“The very first Christ-like characteristic we are to manifest is love! This kind of love goes beyond our love for God and His Word. It also deals with our love for people. It could be said that the truest measure of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives can be found in the way that we treat people.”

Garvin R. Alfter

“By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.” –John 13:35

It is important to understand that He is the vine and we are the branches. We are not asked to be the root or trunk that supports the work of the Spirit. That is the work of the Vine, namely Jesus Christ. As branches we are simply asked to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Apple trees don’t produce oranges; grape trees don’t produce figs; pear trees don’t produce peaches. Likewise, the fruit that we bear is to be consistent with the seed that is placed within us.

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” –John 15:1-5

Manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in our lives doesn’t happen over night, but rather it is a lifetime process that involves:

Planting — The Word of God is sown in our lives.

Nourishing — We continue to attend church, pray, study God’s Word.

Cultivating — We allow God’s Word to convict us of attitudes and actions that are un-Christ-like and repent.

Harvesting — We begin to realize there has been a change of character in our lives. Things that used to get a negative reaction from us don’t have the same effect.

Reproducing — Others see the change and begin to follow us as we follow Christ.

When this process is active in our lives we have a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

“The Bible compares our daily Christian walk to a vine, it’s branches, and the bearing of fruit. God’s purpose being fulfilled in our lives can be measured by the amount of “spiritual” fruit that manifests itself in our daily walk with God.”

Garvin R. Alfter

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance… .” –Galatians 5:22 (KJV)