Could it be that the fruits of the Spirit [love, joy, peace, longsuffering / patience, gentleness / kindness, goodness, faith / faithfulness, meekness, temperance / self control] are not developed to their best, because of ‘infestation from the root’?
I can let the pains / traumas / issues of the past fester and be as worms entering through the roots and infest every fruit before it even develops. Or I can let the rot from the past be compost ie rich ground for the fruits to grow.
Salvation may be intact for it is dependent on the grace of God, not the works of men. However, the sanctification of our life – quality of our faith walk and our relational quality – can remain in a rather rotten state for a long period of time.
Some people transform over night while others take years to see the same transformation materialise. It is not that God is unfair or exhibits favouritism. In both cases, God gets the glory. In each of the extremes, God has His purpose and we are in no position to judge one over the other.
What is clear is that to the degree our past has a wrangling or strangling hold on us, to the degree we allow God to go deep within to render ‘surgery’, and to the degree we are willing to surrender, accordingly, is the size of our Spiritual battle. The victory is always within our reach because the battle belongs to the Lord.
Anger, it is said, is the result of fears. Anger / fear /jealousy / doubt rob us of the fruits that are ours to pick. Rage / bitterness / selfish ambition are the rots that infest from the roots and so affect the fruitfulness of the Spirit.
Self Control is one of the hardest fruits to cultivate [like the Durian fruit], only God can grow this fruit successfully.
Yielding to God is the best thing I can do - as a tree naturally spreads its branches towards the light from the Sun and spreads its roots towards the water in the soil. A tree is never known to struggle / strive to absorb the necessary nutrients for every day consumption.
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