"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
What Grows in Your Garden?
When I was six, some adult convinced me that if I swallowed watermelon seeds, I'd grow a watermelon in my stomach. I spent that entire summer carefully spitting out every black seed, terrified of becoming some kind of human greenhouse.
Turns out, that's not how biology works. Humans grow other humans. Watermelons grow other watermelons. Apple trees produce apples, not oranges. This seems obvious now, but it reveals something profound about the nature of . . . well, nature itself: things can only produce what they are.
Which brings us to the fruit of the Spirit.
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He Only Did It Once
Jesus flipped tables exactly once. He didn't build a brand around it. So why have so many Christians made righteous anger their entire personality?
Read It Like You're Free Day 20: The Trajectory of Grace
A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child. The righteousness of the righteous shall be their own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be their own. —Ezekiel 18:20
The TV Cart
In third grade at
Misused Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:27, "Eating and Drinking in an Unworthy Manner"
This passage isn't about God punishing you for taking communion wrong. It's about what happens when the wealthy eat and the poor go hungry.
Read It Like You're Free Day 19: I Want To Hold Your Ham
Certain ideas get so deeply embedded in the tradition—repeated so often, sung so confidently—that no one stops to ask whether the original actually says what we think it says.
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