Christ in You is the hope of glory. It's the remarkable truth that with Christ, those who fall short may no longer live for themselves, but for God. The Bible speaks of believers in Ezekiel 36, as those who have a heart of flesh; God puts His Spirit in the believer, causing them to walk in His ways and be careful to obey His statutes.
With the Spirit, God's Word is illuminated, our hearts are convicted, and our lives bear the fruit of one who is a Christ follower; not perfectly, but there should be a progression.
So tonight I had a meaningful conversation with Donald. Donald is about 55 years old, homeless, and has been addicted to alcohol since he was a young teenager. He's heard the Gospel, he knows right and wrong, and he depressingly told me how he keeps doing what he knows he shouldn't. He knows what he needs to do, but doesn't do it. He can't beat it.
We talked about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and about what the life that is pursuing Christ looks like. I wrote out the fruit of the Spirit on the napkin pictured above, and Donald came up with what we called the Fruit of Satan, or perhaps a better name, the Fruit of Self. A good friend did something similar with me once, but the truth for Donald, myself, and anyone else is so valuable. When we live for ourselves, we will produce bad fruit. In Donald's case, he acknowledged his lack of self-control in His life. He acknowledged having depression towards his situation, and anxiety about things like where he might sleep, or if he will live. His inability to have self-control when it comes to alcohol has led him so far down the path of destruction that he is so gripped by the need to drink.
While Donald's drinking is a problem, it is not THE problem. His problem is the same as mine, and is the same as yours. He instinctively is the king of his own heart, like all of humankind who fall short of the glory of God. By God's grace, some do not travel the heart-breaking road of addiction, but we all face the same dilemma of living for ourselves, or for a God who gave His son to save us from ourselves.
The Fruit of the Spirit, at their core, can only be fully produced in the life that puts it's own sinful desires to death. The Spirit works on our behalf when we surrender our lives to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Galatians 5:16 challenges, walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
I shared with Donald the areas in my life, where I still battle with living for myself. I shared with Him the bad fruit that has come from those areas. But, I was able to share that since Christ changed my life. Though I'm far from perfect, I have the hope of defeating the hardest battles I face. Living for ourselves will only produce fruit that will disappoint, and eventually destroy.
Who's fruit are you bearing?