Welcome to Buoy, a Life in Deeper Water podcast.

Episode 64. The Perfect Gift to Give for Christmas (Part 3 – rejoicing that God so loved, yes, I so love)

Hello human.

Episode 64 is Part 3 in our journey of celebrating the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem.

A journey driven by this original question:  how do I give to others in this season? How does my witness motivate me, and motivate you, to love your way through this season, with unmatched spiritual robustness?

Driven by the word of James, that “every good and perfect gift is from above…” (James:1:17) my affirmations about this season from BUOY Part 1, e62:

It is about giving to others what has been given to me.

Jesus. The baby boy.

The love of Jesus enabled by the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit. The fullness of Christ in my life.

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

When we abide in Jesus, we prepare to give others on our Christmas path the “good and perfect gift from above.”

I have landed on this question:  How do I abide in Jesus’ love? How does this help me give “good and perfect” to others?

Jesus shows us how. God shows us why.

We abide in Christ through His Word …. which is why scripture is the basis for BUOY… because when we are reading, thinking about, praying over, seeking His Word, we are abiding in Him. I know this is a challenge on some days for you human, and for me, because scripture is dense, deep, and demanding. And redeeming. But you might not have thought about this.

His Words are something the Holy Spirit can work with. It’s that simple.

We are told to hear by faith the Word of God.

Romans 10:17

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

When we are divinely persuaded, our faith activates the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. When we love, it confirms our faith is in motion.

Abiding in Jesus Yields the Fruit of the Spirit.

The fruit is His character.

I would add that this fruit can only be produced by the Spirit when we abide in Christ. Jesus addresses this.

John 15:4-5, 9-11

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

(Jn 15:4-5) makes this point clearest: “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. (5) 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.”

As reminder “abide” means:  not depart, to continue to be present, held, kept, continually, to remain as one, not to become another or different.

Gal 5:5-6

5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Through faith we accept salvation, and the Spirit guides us through.

John 15:10

“If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love.”

Bring Your Free Will to the Vine, and Fruit Will Grow

If we want to capture what life as a Christian is really all about, let’s set the scene.

Enter, the Apostle Paul, because he knew well the battle between the flesh, our human nature, and the Spirit, God’s image in us. Abiding in Christ, accepting the fruit is contingent upon our cooperation.

That’s the power of our free will. That’s our only contribution. It is a divine gift that God wants a relationship with us. He is not a Dictator. It is on this premise that whereby in some scriptural references fruit of the Spirit is a gift, in others it is a command.

Wait, how can we be commanded to do something that we have to be gifted to do through the Holy Spirit?

A command to love

Galatians 5:13-14

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

A command to be joyful

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

A command to pursue peace

2 Timothy 2:22

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

A command to forbear

Ephesians 4:2

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

A command to be gentle

1 Timothy 6:11

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

A command to be good

Galatians 6:10

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

A command to be faithful1 Corinthians 16:13

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

A command to be meek

Titus 3:2

2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.

A command to be self-controlled

1 Corinthians 9:25-27

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Yield to the Holy Spirit

And consider this:

2 Peter 1:5-8

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems we are not passive, but very active in the development of the fruit of the Spirit. Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-8 commands his readers to add to their faith some of the same characteristics that are called the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.

That a life with Jesus is about receiving all the gifts we receive when we accept Jesus into our lives. That we should hold on tightly to this: when He was resurrected, He returned to His disciples to assure them that He had a gift to give them, the Holy Spirit.

The divine gift. With this, we can abide in Him.

What happens when we “receive” the Holy Spirit’s direction and power to live like Jesus?

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

I do not have the power to pursue the fruit. I do not have the power to pursue righteousness. But I have the power, the will (what my mind tells my heart), to yield.

Profit my will by pursuing His Word. Profit my will by praying for His transforming grace.

What will happen?

The fruit will grow.

Jesus pursued righteousness every moment of every day of his short earthly life. In response to what His Heavenly Father set out to do for me. And you.

God Shows Us Why

John 3:16 is one of the Bible verses I memorized every year in vacation Bible school all the way through elementary school. I hope I never forget it. I say it often. But as with anything memorized, you can fall into the familiar rhythm without celebrating the weight of it.

For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son… (John 3:16)

Begotten as a little boy who weighed 7 lbs. by the estimate of scholars.

Begotten as the Son who God knew in heaven before He was born on earth.

Begotten as a boy who God placed in Mary’s womb, to grow up and save the world at age 33.

For God so Loved the World, I so Love the World

Jesus left His heavenly home with all its eternal comforts to be with us. If we accept Him as God’s only begotten Son, divinely conceived, and we repent, turn away from our sin nature, we can say this:

That, “for God so loved the world, now I so love the world.”

If we accept baby Jesus into our world, our lives, and we believe and submit our free will to His sacrifice, then we are free to live with a “rested case.” Jesus died in our defense. The Great Defense. The sentence is paid.

We are free to love unconditionally, in the fullness of His character. So, the spiritual debate about the fruit of the Spirit, whether a gift or command, is resolved in how these attributes are unified into our Savior’s character—always unconditional, always unlimited, and divinely defended by His sacrifice.

In this season, seek beyond picking one fruit out of your basket to give others, give to each the full measure of the love He has shown you. Give the fruit in its fullness. Be present in the fullness of His divine gift to you. Be grateful for how His character fills in the deficiencies you may feel in a relationship. The painful potholes that make conversations rough, jarring, unbalanced, and unpredictable.

He will put the “good and perfect gift” in your heart to give the people on your Christmas path.

Consider the shepherds:  They were first to reach the baby boy named Jesus. They did not have any frankincense, gold or myrrh. But they profited their will by seeking where He lay, and they exclaimed glory and praise to God in abundance, so much so, they spread the word of “Immanuel.”

Luke 2:15-20

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

And the blessed, teenage Jewish mother who would raise our Savior with Joseph, what was her reaction? Luke tells us, she “treasured and pondered them in her heart.”

Give the good and perfect gift from above, human. Like the shepherds.

Because we so love.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO. For God so loved the world. Jesus is born.