During the summer, we’re going through a sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit together. Each week focuses on a specific fruit — looking at the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We’re also asking specific artists in our church to reflect, pray, and meditate on a fruit and then express their creativity through that word. The creative forms could be paintings, glasswork, pottery, music, poetry, or anything else that speaks to them.
During this week’s sermon, we talked about SELF-CONTROL as a Fruit of the Spirit. The artist, Dania Behrens, expressed her creativity through a spoken word poem.
The idea of self-control doesn’t immediately inspire gushing prose or majestic paintings. It’s the only word on that list that, at first glance, seems dirty. I immediately see pictures of lack, of anger, of exhaustion, effort, striving, and ultimately of failure. What the Lord brought to my attention as I meditated on this piece of His character is that self-control is not the same thing as self-discipline. He showed me how his Spirit of control allows me to choose better. To put my energy into the works of the spirit instead of the works of the flesh and there, find life.
Spirit-led self-control means that I have more ability to share in and hand out the fruit of the Spirit because my arms and mind are not full of lesser things. When he grows self-control in me I am able to discern what will bring life and intentionally not choose that which brings death.
I’ve been slowly memorizing Romans 12, and I didn’t think it was going to apply to this process but I’ve come to realize that it does. Romans 12 starts out by saying. “Therefore brothers and sisters. In view of the mercies of God (to me those are His sacrifice, grace, and indwelling spirit). I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God for that is your true worship. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. By this, you will be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
We also encourage YOU to create your own art during this Fruit of the Spirit series! Prayerfully consider one of the fruit words and then see how the Holy Spirit moves within you to create.
If you create artwork, we would love to see it and share it with others! Send us an email with your artwork attached.