I can still picture myself sitting in the pew of the United Methodist Church I grew up in, listening to my pastor explain that what Paul means in Galatians 5:22 is that the fruit of the Spirit is love, and every virtue listed after “love” is really just describing what love is.
I was intrigued by that comment then, and I have to admit that I agree with my childhood pastor now. Reading verse 22 that way makes sense of the Greek syntax, and it seems to make sense of the larger context of the letter to the Galatians. Earlier in verse 14, Paul says, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Although he doesn’t say it, Paul seems to be alluding to what we read in the Gospels about Jesus teaching. Jesus had said that all the law and the prophets hang on the commandments to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). No wonder Paul then concludes his list of the fruit of the Spirit by saying, “There is no law against such things.” From the beginning, God’s entire purpose has been for us to know and show love. The fruit of the Spirit is love.
When I read Galatians 5:22-23 now, I am struck less by what Paul does include to describe love and more by what Paul does not include. Paul does not describe love as “theological correctness.” Paul does not describe love as “knowledge.” Paul does not describe love as “long-standing tradition.” Yet, so much of Christian history has been defined by the very things that Paul doesn’t mention here. Many a pastor has been railroaded out of a church for violating a long-standing tradition. Christians have literally killed each other in debates over theological correctness. Instead of using the law (or the Bible) as a tool to help nurture the growth of love in us, we’ve weaponized it and called it faithfulness to God. The point of our faith in Christ is not to be right — it is to give ourselves entirely over to love.
There is a reason Paul calls it “the fruit of the Spirit.” Just as an apple tree produces apples and a cherry tree produces cherries, a “Holy Spirit tree” produces love. As a result, love should be the motivating force in everything we do. When we’re confronted with tough questions about what being the church should look like, love is the answer. The best response from the church to a global pandemic is the one that demonstrates love to our community. The best response to social unrest is the one that demonstrates love to those most at risk. If we wonder what love might look like in a particular context, look at all those virtues listed after “love” in Galatians 5:22-23 to see how Paul describes it. Or, look at how Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Or, look at how Jesus describes love in the Sermon on the Mount. Then, go talk to the people whose lives are most affected, find out what they actually need and do the loving thing. The opinions of those we desire to love are the best test of the genuineness of our love, because those who taste the fruit of our effort will know whether or not our fruit is good (Matthew 7:17-18).
