Reading
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Galatians 5:22-23
Reflection
Somewhere along the way, someone invested in you.
They may have been a listening ear during a difficult season. They may have paid your way for a trip you wouldn’t have been able to attend otherwise. They may have taught your Sunday school class as a child or led your youth small group. They may have given you a second chance that helped you believe in yourself enough to make a change. Maybe they asked you hard questions and shared wisdom when you were wrestling with the truth.
Who are the people who have invested in your life and faith? Who has the Holy Spirit worked through to help you become who you are today?
They’re often the ones you remember with fondness—those who exemplified the fruit of the Spirit, whose lives reflected God’s presence and, in turn, inspired you.
Beverly. Mike. Heather. John. Deech. Travis.
Between children’s choir and my first mission trip, asking big questions of faith in college, and eventually becoming a youth director leading young people—these are the saints who helped raise me in faith. Through them, the Holy Spirit shaped me, formed me, and guided me into the person I am today.
None of us arrived at this point alone. The Holy Spirit has been at work in and through the people around us.
Take a moment today to thank God for the people who have helped shape your faith. Say their names in prayer. Then, ask yourself: Who might the Holy Spirit be calling me to invest in now? Just as others have poured into you, you are part of someone else’s story. May the fruit of the Spirit grow in you, so that through your life, others may come to know the love, joy, and presence of God.
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for the saints who have come before me, for those who have raised me, and for those whom I get the privilege to walk alongside. Fill me with your Spirit as I live my daily life, investing in those around me. Amen.
