Have you ever heard the goofy song about the fruit of the Spirit -- the one that proudly states that the

fruit of the Spirit is not a coconut, watermelon, or banana? I learned this fun song at a young age and

would proudly sing it loud at every VBS I attended. The song doesn’t just tell us what the fruit of the

Spirit is not, but it also tells us what the fruit of the Spirit is. With fun melodies and dance moves, we

would sing that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). 

You can bet that, as a young kid, I had that list memorized so I could earn a gold star in Sunday School! It

wasn’t until I grew older in my walk with Christ that I began to ponder more deeply about what the fruit

of the Spirit meant. What does it mean to walk in the fruit of the Spirit?

In the past couple of weeks our eyes have witnessed countless evil acts of malice, war, anger, and

hatred in our world. It would be easy to lean into the anger that rises up in us as we watch our brothers

and sisters suffer because of evil. It’s hard not to find ourselves harboring hate and anger in our hearts.

But as I read the words of Galatians 5, I am stopped in my tracks.

In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists the fruit of the flesh; and in the very middle of his list, he mentions anger.

He encourages believers to run from the flesh that harbors anger; and instead, walk in the Spirit, leaning

into love. To live in the flesh is to gratify our own selfish desires -- not the desires of God - the same God

who commands us to love Him and to love others (Matthew 22:37-39). In Galatians 5:22-25, Paul calls us

to walk not in anger, but in love - to bring peace to a world riddled with hatred - to spread kindness to

those who hurt us -- and to reveal Christ through gentleness in the face of evil. He urges us to choose

self-control when we want to lash out in our pain. 



In a world that teaches hate, we are called to walk in peace and love -- to reveal the kindness of Jesus

when it seems easier to let anger run free. Brothers and sisters, as we grieve the evil we see, let us look

for ways to speak love into this world and live in step with the Spirit. In doing so, we reveal Jesus to

those who need Him the most.

By Bailey Stuart

Bailey serves as IBC’s College and Young Adults Associate. She spends her days mentoring college and

young adult women, hanging out with her husband, Jacob, and drinking lots of coffee!