Called to Freedom

Here, on the cusp of the celebration of Independence Day in the US, freedom is ever before us—freedom as an abstract, freedom as a concept. We believe in freedom, we claim. We fought for freedom; we sacrificed for freedom. It’s a powerful statement, a patriotic declaration. But it begs the question, freedom for what? Well, of course, our answer is usually something like anything we want! Except that doesn’t really work for those of us who have chosen to follow Christ. Of course, you can argue that when our wills are perfectly aligned with Christ’s then whatever we want is what he would want us to do. True, I can’t argue with that. But then, how aligned are we?

Maybe we need something a little more directive, a little more transformative. Let’s ask again, “What are we called to freedom for?” Let me humbly suggest that we are free to make a list. That’s what Paul says, anyway. We make lists. Paul loves his lists. They pop up all over the place. You’re reading along, and suddenly there it is. His shopping list. What? No, well, sort of. A list of things he’s looking for.

Or, in this case, a list of things he’s trying to avoid. An anti-shopping list, a “take to the dump” list, a spring-cleaning list. A ... well, you get the idea. He does go on a bit with his list of negatives. It doesn’t take long before we wave him away, saying, “We get it, we get it. Sin is bad. Got it, thanks.” But he keeps going. It is as if he wants to find something that strikes a chord in our hearts, something that feels like our own crushed toes instead of the toes of the folks on the other side of the sanctuary. We hear idolatry and sorcery (really? Sorcery?), and we snicker behind our hands. But he keeps on going and eventually gets to jealousy and anger, and suddenly, he’s moved from preaching to meddling.

Thankfully, this isn’t just a list of disapproval, not just the “stay away from” list. There is also the “embrace” list, the life list. We’re looking for life, remember. We’re embracing the new possibilities that are ours in Christ. So, we have another list, a singular list. Did you notice that? The list of negativities is a plurality, a list of diffusion, of scattering, of this and that and the other thing, a list of dividing and turning inward, a wall-building list. The first list is a list destructive of community. But the second list is singular. Works of the flesh, but fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit. Notice? It’s not really a list. It’s an attribute, a gift, a focus: love. The fruit of the Spirit is love. We could stop there - Paul doesn’t, but he could have. Love. That’s it. That’s all. All we need is love. But what kind of love? (I mean, there is love, and there is love.) Love is in every song we stream, on every soap opera we binge, every novel we read, and every ad we consume. Ah, says Paul, ah. The fruit of the Spirit is love - but it is love that is joyful, love that is peaceful - peace bringing, peace bestowing. It is love that is patient and kind (he’ll remember that phrase and repeat it later when he writes to the church in Corinth). It is a love that is generous, that pours out like the rain of grace that is poured down on us constantly. It’s a love that is faithful, that honors the relationship, that lifts up the other, and doesn’t always ask, “What do I get out of this?” The fruit of the Spirit is a love that is gentle, not just that it cuddles kittens and puppies, but that it bends down to help those who have fallen, that it holds the beloved in an embrace that strengthens and not drains.

And the fruit of the Spirit is love that is self-controlled. Self-controlled? Really, Paul? Self? Or does he mean the fruit of the Spirit is love that is Spirit-controlled? Spirit-controlled so seamlessly that it seems like self; so natural that the will that resides in us seems like our will, but is really God’s will woven into our DNA, our way of seeing the world, our giftedness that is played out in ways that are different from everyone else’s. And yet, it isn’t us. It can’t be us. It is us transformed. Us remade. Us surrendered. Self-control, I’ve tried that. I’ve been there. I threw out the t-shirt. I want Spirit-controlled love to take root in me and bring forth the harvest of fruit that ripples out into a hungry and needy world.

So, now we’ve got our lists: our “stay away from this pile of squirming divisiveness” list and our “gathering together and focusing our whole being into one whole self-aware, spirit-filled person” list. Now what? Now, work. That’s what. There is soil to till, seeds to plant, pruning to do, and weeds to pull. Yeah, it’s not very glamorous. It’s not sinking our teeth into the ripe juicy fruit of our salvation. It’s not the mountaintop excitement of breathing the air of the Spirit and knowing without a doubt that we are alive in Christ. Well, it is. That is there, too. There is joy; there is enthusiasm; there is passion. But there is work too. There is the daily choosing to let the Spirit lead, the monumental effort of surrendering our will again and again and again.

There are tools to harvest this fruit of the Spirit, and every gardener needs tools to work on the fertile ground. The tools for this labor of sanctifying grace, letting God work in us and through us are called means of grace. These are spiritual disciplines, practices that bring us back to the decision point again and take us where God would have us go. John Wesley identified five instituted means of grace, not as exclusive practices, but as ones that help us understand the process of being shaped in faith. His five were prayer, searching the scriptures, Communion, fasting, and gathering in groups to share faith and hold one another accountable. These disciplines are the means by which we work toward the harvest, through which we cultivate the fruit of the Spirit within us and between us. They are the life’s blood of living the life that Christ came to bring us, the air that we breathe so we can inhale the Spirit that takes up residence within us. They are the signs of God’s eternal spring at work in us. We are called to the freedom that brings forth a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit. Thanks be to God.