Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
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!
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
His mother was in the house looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.
It was too late.
Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim, and shot the alligator.
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go."
A few weeks ago, we studied the lives of Abraham, Noah, and Job and saw that even though they followed God as well as they knew how, they still encountered seasons of tremendous pain and uncertainty. But they didn’t give up. They looked past the pain that they were encountering because, deep down, they understood God’s character. They knew that they had no choice but to remain faithful because through it all, God was faithful. He is the same today as He was back then.
As we like to say, He was faithful, He is faithful, and He will always be faithful.
The same should be said for us. Faith is one of the most beautiful gifts that we, as believers, are given. We always have a hope. Even though we encounter many situations that change us forever and leave scars: The scars of a broken home. The scars of loneliness and depression. The scars of unexplained sickness. The scars of losing loved ones too soon. No one will ever escape pain and tragedy in this life.
No one.
God knows this and that’s why He tells us over and over again in scripture to place our faith in Him alone. If we can do that, we can look at our scars with a whole new perspective. We can look at our scars with great joy because we know that even though life may hurt right now, it will all be worth it the instant we see His face.
Romans 8:18 (NLT)
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
