The Gospel - VI

Does this mean there are no common areas of experience?

We mentioned a couple of posts ago, common rules or commands Jesus expected all Christians to practice. If people do the same things, one would think they would have the same experiences. (Of course, activity involving “love” can be more varied than activity involving, say, “skiing.”)

And experiences involving relationships have commonalities, even if there are differences between a relationship with a friend and a spouse. All relationships include communication, support, problem solving and completing shared ends.

Jesus talked about “fruit.” The word “fruit” meant things like apples and oranges. It also came to mean figuratively the results of something. For example, a man and woman come together, and a child could be the “fruit” of such a relationship. Jesus used the term to indicate the results or effects of living our lives.

In one place, Paul writes about the results of living without Jesus. And then, he directly contrasts them with the results of living with Jesus. These results are definitely things all Jesus followers should experience:

- Love 
- Joy 
- Peace 
- Patience 
- Kindness 
- Goodness 
- Faithfulness 
- Gentleness 
- Self-control

As we and the world are not perfect, our experience will not be perfect. But there ought to be a significant difference. It should show up in our relationships with friends and strangers, our dealing with difficulty and difficult people, and in our behavior driving.