But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—-things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—-crucified.
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implication in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself in that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
Galatians 5:22-6:5
Creativity and Fruity Freedom
Oh, my sweet, creative sisters, inside you lives creativity. I always think everyone else has it, but where is mine? As a child, I felt pleased to stay within the lines of a pre-patterned color page. I felt even more skilled when I added colors that went against the norm. What art I created! Later, as I studied and taught how to teach preschoolers, I learned that each child has an inherent ability to be creative. As a teacher, I needed to usher them into this by setting a blank piece of paper in front of each child and letting them “create” as they desired, with no lines or formatting. Sisters, in Christ, we are set free to create. Our creative God created and sets us free to live towards Him—-as artists, not copycats.
We are an original masterpiece and, therefore, free to live authentically. Somewhere along our downward path, the path of ease, some smooth-talking mountain lion walked alongside us and said, “You need to live like this. You need to color within these lines.” Usually, this person was someone we trusted, sincerely wanting us to do it right. We’ve spent our lives trying to be just that. However, I firmly believe that as we turn and make our way back uphill in freedom, God doesn’t ask us to cite from memory a script as if we are in some play. He wants a blank piece of paper.
When we take our hands off the formatting, we are accepting this life of faith. When we believe our Creator-God created us in His image, we trust He loves us. When we decide the only way this life takes on meaning is by believing that the invisible truth keeps our visible world in place, things begin to happen within. God continues to work creatively within us; He constantly brings new qualities into our lives.
“Well, creativity requires materials,” you say to me. We have them. Along the journey, we read a list of fifteen consequences of living a life under compulsion. In Paul’s letter, this list was not in order. It was as if he was trying to demonstrate, with words, the chaos brought on by a life of taking, not receiving. (It goes back to the story’s beginning when Adam and Eve had a choice, to take or not to take. We all know they chose to take, wanting the power and ability to define good and evil according to their terms instead of waiting to receive and accept on faith God defining good and evil.)
In contrast to the unorganized list of chaotic words, Paul organizes a carefully crafted list of what we can expect our lives of freedom to produce along our journey naturally. A life designed by Christ, a free life received, is a life from chaos to beauty.
We have three groups of three (three is the most symmetrical of numbers, by the way). Each of these three came from God long before He created us. The first three items name the free acts of God that humans experience in the life of freedom: love, the truth that I am accepted just as I am; joy, the discovery that exuberance and vitality flow freely from God’s life into my life; peace, the realization that God works through the confusion and contradictions of my experiences and brings them into harmony.
The next group of three names freedoms associated with personal growth: patience, the freedom to stay with something or someone, not hurrying, not rushing for a result; kindness, the freedom to deal with life in a relaxed and leisurely fashion, not forcing, not coercing, not pushing; goodness, the freedom to see and respond to life in terms of its good creation rather than in terms of its willful rebellion, Tree of Knowing Good and Evil and defining it on our own terms.
The third group of three names aspects of our freedom as it we live it out in the world: faithfulness, the liberty to be involved in long-term, loyal commitments based on invisible values and meanings rather than immediate and tangible self-interests; gentleness, the freedom to be salt and light in this cruel world; self-control, the freedom to discipline and direct our energies wisely, impervious to whim and impulse—-no preconditioned responses.
Sisters, on our journey to freedom, these “fruits” as we know them are not bought along the way; we cannot engineer them. They are a natural byproduct of our adventure of faith. A life designed by Christ (nothing of our own doing) brings this fruity freedom. Our creative God has created (fruit) within us!