Welcome back to our study of the Fruits of the Spirit. Last week we introduced our study so if you missed Fruits of the Spirit be sure to go review it before we start our deep dives into each trait listed by Paul in Galatians. All of these traits can and will be linked to God’s and Jesus’ own character. But (perhaps this is just me) when I think about who God is and His traits, it is sometimes hard for me to put that into a real-life human experience. Yes, Christ lived and showed all of the Fruits of the Spirit and He did so perfectly. He is the perfect lived example of each of these fruits but He was the Son of God. My mind knows I’ll never be perfect and while I always seek to be like Jesus – sometimes it is hard for me to see beyond His perfection. In other words, I want – I need – to see what it looks like when a “regular person” like me showcases one of these traits in their life.
This is one of the main goals of this study. We will always circle back to God and Jesus but we will predominantly be examining these characteristics by exploring how Godly people in the Old Testament lived them. The reality is God could have showcased these traits in a variety of ways but the Bible is a story of imperfect deeply flawed people trying their best to please God. In my opinion, God’s use of these people is on purpose because they are us and. we are them. God knows how hard it is to truly understand Him and adopt His nature – in fact, while we are in our temporary physical tent we will never truly reach it. So, God, in His perfect wisdom, showcased His traits not only through Jesus, the perfect example but through the lives of regular people who tried every day to be a little bit more like Him. So, let’s begin our journey into the Fruits of the Spirit.
Today we begin our examination of each fruit of the Spirit. The first listed is love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also WALK in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22 – 25)”
Love is the first trait listed and it is arguably the most important of the Fruits of the Spirit because without it your effort at growing others will never reach its full potential. To keep the growing analogy, love is the soil required for all the other fruits. If you don’t have the right soil, your fruits will inevitably fail. The word love appears in the Scriptures over 300 times. There are several forms of the word that appear throughout the Bible so let’s break down that 300 times and look at the exact version of love that appears in Galatians 5. The love listed as a Fruit of the Spirit is agape love. This love appears over 115 times (so close to half of the times love is used). Its definition is “affection and benevolence – to show charity.” It is the version of love used to describe God’s and Christ’s love for us. This means it is sacrificial, humble, and pure. It is devoid of seeking its own desires and instead puts the needs and wants of others first. There are a variety of examples we could explore to see this love lived out in action but I want to hone in on the story of Ruth to see what agape love looks when we try to live it as humans.
The story of Ruth can be in the book Ruth. It is a short book located between the Judges and Samuel (the beginnings of the Kings), Ruth tells the story of a Moabite woman named Ruth. Her story takes place during the times of the judges when there was a famine in the land of Israel. One day an Israelite man named Elimelech went to dwell in the lands east of the sea of Galilee – Moab. Presumably, because there was no food in Israel. He took with him his wife, Naomi, and his two sons – Mahlon and Chilion. Their family was from the small town of Bethlehem in Judah. While there after some years, Elimelech died. Naomi was left with her two sons in a foreign land. Eventually, those two sons married Moabite women – Mahlon married Orpah and Chilion married Ruth. For ten years, they dwelled together as a large family until one day both Mahlon and Chilion died leaving the women alone to survive without any male support or protection – a necessity for women in that day and time. Now, one day after the deaths of all the men in their family, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law to return back to their families’ homes because she was returning to her homeland. “Go, return to your mother’s house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of a husband.” The recounting tells us the three women wept together and immediately both women – Orpah and Ruth said they would instead return with her to her people. But Naomi, not wanting to be a burden on her daughters-in-law and hoping they would find husbands so they could have their own families insisted no matter how sad it made them all – that they return to Moab. She was even concerned if they stayed with her – what would happen to their future husbands. “Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!” After they wept again, Orpah this time departed but Ruth clung to her mother-in-law’s side. She told Naomi she would not return to her people but instead follow Naomi for she loved her. “For wherever you go, I will go. And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your GOD, my God…The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth was determined. She would not leave her mother-in-law alone. So, the two of them made the long trip back to Bethlehem.
While Naomi was known in Bethlehem, she and Ruth were single women with no money or real provisions. So, every day, as was custom Ruth would go glean the leftover heads of grain from the fields of wealthy farmers. One of those fields belonged to a man named Boaz. Boaz was a member of Elimelech’s extended family and it was customary for the wealthy and extended family to help provide for the needy in their family. So, every day Ruth went and worked for the food she and her mother-in-law needed. Her hard work eventually made it to the ears of Boaz and he came to see the woman for himself. He told her not to go anywhere else to find food and that if anyone touched her to tell him and told his reapers to make sure she had all the grains and water she needed. Ruth was stunned by his kindness and she asked him why he was being so kind since she was a Moabite woman? He responded, “It has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of her husband….The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD GOD of Israel.” After the hard day’s work, Boaz even allowed her to eat with his workers. When she returned home to Naomi, Naomi was stunned to see how much she was able to return home with and asked how this could be? Ruth then recounted what had happened to her that day and all that Boaz had done for her. Naomi approved and told her to continue to work only in Boaz’s field until the end of harvest. Once the harvest was over, Naomi told Ruth how to approach Boaz to let him know she was a close relative of his and to present herself as an option for his future bride. Ruth did everything exactly as Naomi instructed. After Boaxzmade the appropriate inquiries to see if any other male relative had the first claim to Ruth’s hand, Boaz redeemed Ruth and took her for his bride.
Boaz and Ruth’s story is a beautiful love story from beginning to end. Ruth loved her first husband and his family. When he died, she loved her mother-in-law so much that she abandoned her own culture, religion, family, and lands and followed Naomi back to Israel and adopted her lifestyle, religion, and culture. The moment Boaz heard all the stories about Ruth – he had to go see her for himself. He took care of her and her mother-in-law because Ruth was so devoted to Naomi. He saw in Ruth true love and devotion, and service to others; it deeply moved him. So much so that the two eventually wed.
Ruth’s love for Naomi is incredibly moving. She gave up everything to take care of her mother-in-law. An Israelite who was an older woman and had nothing to give her back but love as well. It was truly an act of self-sacrifice, honor, and devotion. And because of her actions, God rewarded her in more ways than she would ever really know by including her in the genealogy of Jesus – the Christ – our Savior and God’s only Son.
Paul gives us a very detailed definition of agape love in I Corinthians 13. Love:
Suffers long.
Is kind.
Does not envy.
Does not parade itself.
Is not puffed up.
Does not behave rudely.
Does not seek its own.
Is not provoked.
Thinks no evil.
Does not rejoice in iniquity.
Rejoices in truth.
Bears all things.
Believes all things.
Hopes all things.
Endures all things.
According to Paul, this type of love never fails. When we think about the story of Ruth, look at all the elements of this definition her actions showcase. She suffered long with her circumstances, she was kind to Naomi, and she did not envy, think poorly of, or act rudely to Oprah when she decided to return home and leave them. She was humble enough to go work in the fields for the poor to take care of Naomi. She was not provoked when people asked about her and did not seek her own instead everything she did was to help Naomi. She bore and endured everything with patience. She always believed God would take care of them.
When agape love is used in the New Testament, it implies a sentiment of affection based on judgment and adulation which selects its object for charity and affection for a reason. It is not just a feeling or an emotion but a logical decision one makes based on judgment. For Ruth, this love is showcased in her care of Naomi. She DECIDED to stay with Naomi. She CHOSE to give up everything and follow Naomi & God. And, she didn’t just do it once but every day. Every day she decided to care for Naomi and she never grumbled or complained instead Ruth loved Naomi so much to put her first every day.
The Apostle John tells us “God is love (1 John 3:7).” (This love is the same love listed in the Fruits of the Spirit and defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians.) God showcased His love for us by sending Jesus and giving Him up to die for us (1 John 3 & Romans 5). Christ loved us so much He willingly gave up Heaven, came to earth as a poor insignificant man, and humbled Himself so low He willingly died on the cross of us because of our sins (Philippians 2). One of Paul’s most challenging statements: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…who humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even the death of the cross.” – Philippians 2
So, agape love is the soil required for all the other Fruits of the Spirit. It is the foundational characteristic of God and therefore, it must be our foundational trait. Without it, we can never truly be one of God’s children. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…and we love HIM because HE first loved us” (I John 3:11-19)
So, I’ll leave you with 2 challenges/questions for the week
- How can you show love to God this week?
- How can you show love to others this week?
As you think of ways, remember the lessons from Ruth and how she put Naomi above herself even when it was hard. Ultimately, she lived a life that put others first – the bedrock of agape love.
Let’s all work on showing more agape love to others so they can see God’s love in us.
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