A Virtuous LifeSample

Love

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Becoming a person of virtue means becoming a person of love. It’s the first virtue listed that the Holy Spirit produces in us, and it's the virtue that 1 Corinthians tells us is the greatest of all:

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT

So, how do we partner with the Holy Spirit to become people of love? In John 15, Jesus tells us that it starts with remaining in Him.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 NLT

Jesus, love incarnate, is the vine, and we, people who have been saved by His grace, are the branches. If we are not connected to Him, we cannot produce fruit. But, if we remain in Him, He will remain in us,and we will produce much fruit! In order to produce the fruit of the Spirit, we need the power of the Spirit. Like we learned yesterday …

The Holy Spirit shows us how to live like Jesus and shapes us into people who love like Jesus.

A few verses later, Jesus goes on to teach us that fruitfulness is the evidence of real faithfulness:

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:8 NLT

When we remain in Jesus, when we build our lives on His love, we will become people of virtue, and the changes in our character will bring glory to our Creator and reveal our allegiance to Jesus. So, if remaining in Jesus is so important, then how do we actually do it? Thankfully, because Jesus is a great teacher, He gives us the answer.

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:9-10 NLT

How do we remain in Jesus and build our lives on His love? The same way He remained in the Father. We remain in Jesus by obeying His commandments. We obey the commands of our King. We do what He says. We commit, with all that we are, to take His words seriously and apply them to our lives. This is how we become people of virtue.

But, there’s a problem. As human beings, historically speaking, we have a hard time obeying authority. All the way back in Genesis 3, even though human beings had been given free rein over the earth, with only one command to follow, it was still too much. We rebelled against our Creator and threw all of creation into chaos. From that point on, all throughout Scripture, we see example after example of God’s people rejecting His rule over their lives and choosing to do “what is right in their own eyes.”

Why do we do that? Fundamentally, it’s because we do not believe that God has our best interests in mind. We think we know better, so instead of trusting His instruction, we choose to go in our own direction.

That’s why it matters so much that we understand the character of our King. He is good and true, through and through. There is no shadow side to Him. He doesn’t have ulterior motives. He’s not trying to manipulate you or take advantage of you. He genuinely and sincerely loves you, cares about the details of your life, and wants what is best for you!

Every command God gives is an expression of His love, and they are always for your good. And we know that’s true because that’s what Jesus taught us.

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” John 15:11 NLT

Why did Jesus tell us to remain in His love by obeying His commands? Because He wants us to be filled with His joy and so that our joy will overflow! The God who is love wants you to experience His joy. So, how do we experience that kind of heavenly joy? We remain in Jesus by obeying His commandments. Now, if that sounds overwhelming, don’t worry—Jesus makes it simple for us.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. … This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:12-13, 17 NLT

We remain in Jesus by obeying His commandment to love each other the same way He has loved us.

When we do, we become people of virtue, people of love. And love, according to Jesus, is more than just affection. Real love requires action. Love is a choice to sacrifice yourself for the good of another. How do we know? Because the love of Jesus went far beyond positive feelings or nice words. He demonstrated His love by laying down His life for us on the cross. He proved His love for the Father by being obedient to everything He asked, even though it cost Him His life.

All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God … God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect … Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear … We love each other because he loved us first.1 John 4:15-19 NLT