Learn to Love being a Servant: The Fruit of the Spirit Series

   “Every day of our lives…we are given opportunities to show love kindness to those around us” (Thomas S. Monson).
   Love is an interesting word. Many people do not know how to describe it. And yet, we use the word love every day. We say we love food. We love our parents. Love is in the King James Bible 310 times. Love is God.

   Love is also the first fruit of the spirit. We are to have these 9 attributes in order to live a Christian life. But how can we show love to others? Most people may think this is really simple. However, aren’t there some people you just do not like that much? I’m sure you are saying yes. So how can we love these people?

   The answer is to look at Jesus’ life. There were people that he could have hated in his life. He could have hated the Samaritan woman because all Jews hated the Samaritans. He could have hated the Pharisees who planned to kill him. He could have hated the Roman soldiers who nailed him to a cross. And yet, he still died for these people. On top of that he showed love to these people. He was a servant to these people.

   The best way to show love to others, no matter who they are or what they have done to us, is to be a servant to them. I’m not going to lie, it is not easy to be a servant to people who hate you or who are mean to you. But, if Jesus could do it for all those people who hated him I’m sure we could do it for a few people.

   When I say be a servant, what am I talking about? I am talking about being kind and patient toward others. Love encompasses all of the other fruits of the spirit. If we have the other fruits of the spirit then love is sure to follow. We will have joy when we love and help others. We understand that we have peace in God when we trust in his love for us no matter what is happening. We will have patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control when we love others. That’s why I ended with love even though it was at the beginning of Paul’s list.

   So, will you love others even if they hate you or are mean to you? Will you work hard to be a servant and help others? Will you try to embody the fruits of the spirit?

   1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 1 Corinthians 16:14, Galatians 5:13, Galatians 5:22-23