6月11日
标 题：圣灵的果子
经节：圣灵所结的果子，就是仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、温柔、节制。这样的事没有律法禁止。（加拉太书五章22～23节）
查验圣灵的果子实在令人心惊胆战。想在生活中结出圣灵果子的九种特性，似乎是不可能的事；事实上也的确如此。然而，当你成为基督徒的那一刹那，圣灵开始在你身上动工，要塑造你拥有基督的个性。不管你是谁，圣灵会照着同一个榜样──耶稣──来塑造你。圣灵会以耶稣为蓝图，来雕塑你的个性。圣灵会马上帮助你体验及实践爱，也就是那份耶稣为祂的朋友流血舍命同样的爱。祂曾经历过的喜乐，同样会充满于你。圣灵会徐徐地加给你平安，就是那份曾经保护耶稣的心，让祂在被鞭打、遭耻笑时仍享有的平安。圣灵会开始培养你的耐性，让你也拥有耶稣当初面对最难受教的门徒时，所持有的那份相同的耐性。耶稣施予儿童与罪人的恩慈，会柔软你对他人的心。你会拥有良善，而你能够拥有良善的惟一解释，是神的灵与你同在。圣灵会创建你的信实，就是当年那份引领耶稣完全顺服天父的信实。圣灵也会教导你节制，好叫你有力量作正确的事及抵抗试探。
这些特性的发展，就像树结果子一样自然。你不需要靠自己的力量调整自己，一切都在你成为信徒的那一刹那，就自动开始成长。至于成长的速度，则取决于你如何完全顺服神的带领。
The Fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
An examination of the fruits of the Spirit can be intimidating. Working all nine of these traits into your life seems impossible, and indeed it is. But the moment you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit began a divine work to produce Christ’s character in you. Regardless of who you are, the Spirit works from the same model, Jesus Christ. The Spirit looks to Christ in order to find the blueprint for your character. The Spirit will immediately begin helping you experience and practice the same love that Jesus had when He laid down His life for His friends. The same joy He experienced will now fill you. The identical peace that guarded the heart of Jesus, even as He was being beaten and mocked, will be the peace that the Spirit works to instill in you. The patience Jesus had for His most unteachable disciple will be the patience that the Spirit now develops in you. The kindness Jesus showed toward children and sinners will soften your heart toward others. There will be a goodness about you that is only explainable by the presence of the Spirit of God. The Spirit will build the same faithfulness into you that led Jesus to be entirely obedient to His Father. The Spirit will teach you self-control so that you will have strength to do what is right and to resist temptation.
All of this is as natural as the growth of fruit on a tree. You do not have to orchestrate it on your own. It automatically begins the moment you become a believer. How quickly it happens depends upon how completely you yield yourself to the Holy Spirit’s activity.
