You scroll down a little further and notice that there aren’t any comments. You think to yourself, how can I answer this without being long winded? The Spirit sums up 9 characteristics of a person or community living within an agreement with The holy trinity (God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.) according to Galatians chapter 5 verse 22-23, the Fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. now, let us dive deeper into the characteristics.

1. Love

              We love our family and friends. Now, let me ask you a question: if any of these people died or perished, wouldn’t you be upset? Of course! Now, let me ask you the same question but in a different context: how would you feel if any of these people perished while protecting you? At first you’d probably be upset, but then you would come to the realization that this person died for me!

              Jesus sacrificed his life for us so we would be free from sins. Just as Jesus Christ died on the cross out of love for us, we should also love one another. Jesus also tells us to love our enemies.

2. Joy

              If you graduated from high school or college, got a job, got married or started a family, how would you feel? Would you feel joy? Sometimes we tend to reduce the importance of joy.  Have you ever lost someone you’ve gotten really close to and when you go to the funeral, you are deeply sad and emotional?  Think about this: yes they’re gone from your life but you can have joy because they are united with the Holy Spirit!

3. Peace

              Our world doesn’t have much peace today. This is probably because the world does not know who peace is. Remember, Jesus Christ is the prince of peace! If you have the Spirit of peace inside of you, you can go through life knowing God is in control! Furthermore, you can bring all your worries and troubles to Jesus Christ in your prayers! You can also read the Bible and know God’s truth!

4. Patience

              we don’t see very much patience in the world that we live in today. Perhaps it is the fast-paced culture. As Christians, we have the ability to be patient due to the fact that the holy spirit is living inside of us. patience is also connected with sharing the gospel. You may get someone that doesn’t believe the gospel or refuse to listen. With some patience, you may turn the unbeliever into a believer!

5. Kindness

              Kindness is an ability to show empathy when other people are hurting. We often think that niceness and kindness are related, but they are not. If you are nice, then this means you are agreeable. Being kind refers to acting for the good of others. Those who have the Holy Spirit inside of them act for the good of another person even though they may not receive thanks.  this is because they have experienced the kindness of God and Jesus Christ!

6. Goodness

              This is often used hand-and-hand with kindness and is closely related to one another. The virtue of goodness is the positive quality characterized by the interest and happiness of others. This models Christ’s action of love, humility and forgiveness. This allows us to display integrity, honesty and compassion toward other people.

7. Faithfulness

              This is the Constant holding onto something or someone. We are called to remain faithful to the word of God and to Christ, remaining steadfast to his promises. We have all been down that road before. The road where things happen and we forget to be faithful. For example, someone had just passed away or gotten sick. Rather than being faithful to the word of God and to Christ, we often blame God for refusing to save or heal the person from death or their sickness. As Christians, I think we need to have better faith. Remember, Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. He knows what we are going through and even when we cannot see, he is working all things together for our good!

8. Gentleness

              Gentleness is the virtue of being mild or tame. In a world that values proving yourself right, people who have gentleness possess calmness, humility and tenderness. We keep our eyes upon Jesus because he showed the greatest example of this!

9. Self -control

              Self -control is the ability to maintain and regulate emotions in the face of temptation or impulse. It allows us to listen and act on the will of God rather than our own desires. Think about it: let's say you have a big test that you are studying for. Your friend invites you to a party. You could skip studying for the test and go to the party, however, you may fail and have to retake the test. Having self-control is the ability to also say “no.”

              Now that you know what the Fruit of the Spirit is, you can start practicing them in your everyday life. Trust me, it’s very hard and don’t think it will happen overnight, because it takes time. I think every Christian ultimately wants to grow closer to God! Here is a link to a song that will hopefully help you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA-TMUDQ7us