Heart of the Island
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control."
(Galatians 5:22)
Across from our rental house on Skidaway Island is dense tropical island
with a lagoon surrounding it. As I sat on the porch this morning, I heard a
variety of bird calls coming from the heart of this island. I then heard
some other sounds which I was unable to identify, but were very clearly
sounded. No animals scurried to the waters’ edge, and only a few birds flew
out of the dense overgrowth I was observing. There were things in the heart
of that island that I would never observe, even though I knew they were
there. They were housed safely within the confines of the thicket, taking no
chances to venture out of their safe harbor.
The Bible talks about something called the fruit of the spirit which is
given to each believer when we accept Jesus as our savior. It is placed in
our hearts, and we must decide if we will allow it to surface to the outside
of our life or if we will just harbor it in our hearts and minds. Sometimes
it may be safer to keep it inside us, because people may not understand us
when we exhibit these attributes. When we show love for other-even the
unlovable, exuberance for life despite heartaches, serenity through turmoil,
willingness to stick with something that has become soooo tiring, no
grumbling generosity, sincere compassion, faithfulness and self control.
This is truly a gift from God. What we do with it is our decision- will we
hide these gifts snug within ourselves, or faithfully exhibit them, as God
intended?
Marion Smith
comments and feedback welcome