GetWisdom PaperturnSampler FINAL SinglePages - Flipbook - Page 117
LIVING IN AUTHENTICITY
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PHILIPPIANS
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the health of our heart, so if we’re speaking death (unkindness or
gossip), it’s likely our heart isn’t in a good place. But if we are women
who speak life (kindness and encouragement) into others, we not
only will be sincere—not causing others to stumble—but will overflow with what Paul talks about next in this passage.
“Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (verse 11)
We learn in Galatians 5:22-23 that the fruit given to us by the Spirit
results in love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control. In this passage from Philippians, we’re learning what
ethical fruit we will bear when we live intentionally and with love. Paul
doesn’t want us focused on an exterior life of striving and attempting
to look good through what we do. No—he’s encouraging us to live a
fruit-filled life, where God’s restoration of our hearts and souls emerges
outward into action. If we plant this seed of love into our hearts, the
outward fruit will be good works, living the way God calls us to—but
because that seed grows from Living Water, it is authentic and sustainable in a way willing ourselves to live rightly never could be. In other
words, the fruit described here is rooted from the heart.
As much as we all want to be people who speak life-giving words
over others, none of us do it perfectly—or perfectly consistently. We
get frustrated by that one passive-aggressive coworker and make snide
remarks behind their back. We snap at our children when they move
out the door at a snail’s pace. We nitpick at our spouses when they
don’t do things quite the way we wish they would. We get frustrated
with our parents, neglect our friends, are impatient with the cashier
at the grocery store.
But as we pursue the life that really matters, as we seek for our love
to abound more and more, we’ll find ourselves being more intentional with our words. We’ll find ourselves slower to speak when
we’re grumpy. We’ll see the needs around us more clearly and sense
God’s prompting about the right words to speak.
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