Years ago, I was giving the children’s message on Sunday morning, and this was our verse. I gave each child a different piece of fruit – a banana, an apple, an orange, a pear, small clusters of grapes, red and white. After getting through the comments “I like oranges, I don’t like pears, my mother cuts my grapes up,” and so on, I asked them why it is important to include fruit in your diet. Again, the expected answers were given: “they have vitamins, they’re good for you, they taste good,” and then one unexpected answer: “they make you sweet.” We did go on and make the connection between fruits of the Spirit and striving to show them in our daily lives – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.

I hope some of the children really did understand the importance of accepting and exemplifying the fruits of the Spirit, but the more I thought about the answer “they make you sweet,” the more I believe that child was exactly right.

Think about the opposites of these gifts: hatred, unhappiness, anxiety, impatience, meanness, and disloyalty. These are not qualities we seek, nor are they the characteristics of a happy person. I believe God is telling us that through Him we have the capacity and strength to be better people. Without the Spirit giving us the ability to love others, no matter their faults, a Christian is no different from the saddest, meanest, grouchiest person who lives. Who wants to be like that person?

The fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists benefit every one of us. They also benefit everyone who comes in contact with us. The checkout line is long and you’re in a hurry? You can be impatient and grouchy, or you can be kind and encouraging to others in line with you and especially the stressed out clerk. A friend or family member has betrayed your trust or done something to hurt you? You can hold a grudge forever and respond with unkind words or you can forgive and work to repair the relationship, even when that may take a lifetime or never happen at all.

As human beings, it is not easy to be the one who is kind or the one who forgives. Truthfully, most of us cannot do it on our own. We must embrace the Spirit in order to enjoy the fruits for ourselves and to demonstrate Christian joy to others. Through the power of your Spirit, we can.

Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that through the Power of your Spirit, we can behave in ways that go against our instincts. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness and faithfulness are the fruits you give us so that we can live in a different, Christ-like way that is pleasing to you. Amen.

This devotion was written by Pat Scruggs and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at firstchurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

As part of the morning services at our church, there is children's time. It is one of my favorite parts of the service. Usually, it consists of an object lesson and a brief story told to the kids by the pastor. Very seldom does the session end without a reply from one or more of the children that brings joy and, many times, laughter from the adults.

At a recent church Thanksgiving dinner, the pastor highlighted the blessings that he referred to as “dreams come true” throughout the year. Then he invited everyone to share a dream they had for the future of the church by writing it on a sticky note and placing it on one of the large glass windows along the side of the room. The children were included in the invitation. One youngster shared his honest and humorous dream of “playing basketball in Sunday School.” As the saying goes, you can't make this stuff up.

It is encouraging to see young people using their musical talent in various church services. This includes instrumental solos, a youth choir, and a handbell choir. Young people also help with communion, church offerings, candle lighting, and other tasks.

Our scripture relays a story of people being rebuked by the disciples for bringing children to Jesus to be blessed, but Jesus said, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Proverbs 22:6 proclaims “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Children face some serious challenges in our world and need our prayers, protection, and encouragement. I’m thankful for opportunities for our youth to serve and worship and for parents and family support systems that share responsibility to “bring up a child in the way he should go.”

Thank you, Father, for our young people. We pray for wisdom as we share a community of love and protection for children. Amen.

This devotion was written by Stephen Hankal and read by Judy Wilson.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.