6月11日

標 題：聖靈的果子

經節：聖靈所結的果子，就是仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信實、溫柔、節制。這樣的事沒有律法禁止。（加拉太書五章22∼23節）

查驗聖靈的果子實在令人心驚膽戰。想在生活中結出聖靈果子的九種特性，似乎是不可能的事；事實上也的確如此。然而，當你成為基督徒的那一剎那，聖靈開始在你身上動工，要塑造你擁有基督的個性。不管你是誰，聖靈會照著同一個榜樣──耶穌──來塑造你。聖靈會以耶穌為藍圖，來雕塑你的個性。聖靈會馬上幫助你體驗及實踐愛，也就是那份耶穌為祂的朋友流血捨命同樣的愛。祂曾經歷過的喜樂，同樣會充滿於你。聖靈會徐徐地加給你平安，就是那份曾經保護耶穌的心，讓祂在被鞭打、遭恥笑時仍享有的平安。聖靈會開始培養你的耐性，讓你也擁有耶穌當初面對最難受教的門徒時，所持有的那份相同的耐性。耶穌施予兒童與罪人的恩慈，會柔軟你對他人的心。你會擁有良善，而你能夠擁有良善的惟一解釋，是神的靈與你同在。聖靈會創建你的信實，就是當年那份引領耶穌完全順服天父的信實。聖靈也會教導你節制，好叫你有力量作正確的事及抵抗試探。

這些特性的發展，就像樹結果子一樣自然。你不需要靠自己的力量調整自己，一切都在你成為信徒的那一剎那，就自動開始成長。至於成長的速度，則取決於你如何完全順服神的帶領。

The Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

An examination of the fruits of the Spirit can be intimidating. Working all nine of these traits into your life seems impossible, and indeed it is. But the moment you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit began a divine work to produce Christ's character in you. Regardless of who you are, the Spirit works from the same model, Jesus Christ. The Spirit looks to Christ in order to find the blueprint for your character. The Spirit will immediately begin helping you experience and practice the same love that Jesus had when He laid down His life for His friends. The same joy He experienced will now fill you. The identical peace that guarded the heart of Jesus, even as He was being beaten and mocked, will be the peace that the Spirit works to instill in you. The patience Jesus had for His most unteachable disciple will be the patience that the Spirit now develops in you. The kindness Jesus showed toward children and sinners will soften your heart toward others. There will be a goodness about you that is only explainable by the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit will build the same faithfulness into you that led Jesus to be entirely obedient to His Father. The Spirit will teach you self-control so that you will have strength to do what is right and to resist temptation.

All of this is as natural as the growth of fruit on a tree. You do not have to orchestrate it on your own. It automatically begins the moment you become a believer. How quickly it happens depends upon how completely you yield yourself to the Holy Spirit's activity.