Last night I attended a School of the Word; a Verbum Dei activity, and the talk was about Jesus’ third appearance to the 7 disciples after his resurrection.
I was amazed how Jesus was feeling so joyful after being crucified on the cross. After being slaughtered, denied and fierce to death. I was asking him why he appeared to the disciples greeting them “Peace be with you” instead of reprimanding them because of not standing by his side all the time while he was scorned to death. And Jesus told me these… “I resurrected in a good mood. In the same way I died with a good mood because I’m happy I obeyed the will of the Father ‘til the very end.”
Then I had a thought that in order to be happy and peaceful, maybe I too ought to live in accordance to the will of the Father. But then there is a question, How will I know that I am living in accordance to the will of the Father? When Jesus ascended into heaven, He left us with the H. S. (Gal 5:16) Let the spirit direct your lives. If you have the fruits of the spirit, you have been living the will of the Father. What are then the fruits of the Spirit? (Gal 16:22-23) The fruits of the H.S are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.
The invitation of Jesus for me is to live out the fruits of the Holy Spirit in every situation in my life. In whatever state of life I have. Allowing the spirit to control my life and lead me where I should be going and what I should be doing. (Gal 16:25) The spirit gives us life; he must control our lives.
I was amazed how Jesus was feeling so joyful after being crucified on the cross. After being slaughtered, denied and fierce to death. I was asking him why he appeared to the disciples greeting them “Peace be with you” instead of reprimanding them because of not standing by his side all the time while he was scorned to death. And Jesus told me these… “I resurrected in a good mood. In the same way I died with a good mood because I’m happy I obeyed the will of the Father ‘til the very end.”
Then I had a thought that in order to be happy and peaceful, maybe I too ought to live in accordance to the will of the Father. But then there is a question, How will I know that I am living in accordance to the will of the Father? When Jesus ascended into heaven, He left us with the H. S. (Gal 5:16) Let the spirit direct your lives. If you have the fruits of the spirit, you have been living the will of the Father. What are then the fruits of the Spirit? (Gal 16:22-23) The fruits of the H.S are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control.
The invitation of Jesus for me is to live out the fruits of the Holy Spirit in every situation in my life. In whatever state of life I have. Allowing the spirit to control my life and lead me where I should be going and what I should be doing. (Gal 16:25) The spirit gives us life; he must control our lives.
