Righteousness: Part V

While righteousness itself is not mentioned in the 9 qualities listed within the "fruits of the Spirit," it can be reached by one or a combination of some. Remember the "sum of the parts" theory?

In Romans 1: 17 we found, "The righteous will live by faith," and in Proverbs 21:21, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." Faith, gentleness and love are presented as things that can be obtained, again, by someone who pursues righteousness in 1 Timothy 6:11. To me, I can see a pattern forming in just the few verses we have covered in this chapter.

It seems prudent to me to share the definition of pursue, so let's go back to our trusty dictionary. Looking at two parts from the Oxford English Dictionary we find the following:  1) to follow or chase (someone or something), and 2) to continue or proceed along (a path or route.)

These two definitions, in combination once again, become extremely powerful when pursuing righteousness. Think of it like this; God wants us to chase him. Using the "fruits of the Spirit," independently and together in some cases, gives us the continuation; the process of "moving along," in our walk with God. Like anything else, we want to strive for perfection. All things aside, no one is perfect. There was only one blameless and perfect person who gracefully walked this earth. Jesus Christ. It is our pursuit, however, the process toward using the appropriate tools that He has equipped us with, and striving harder each day in those that do not necessarily come easy or natural to us, that God is interested in.

The great author Malcolm Gladwell said that it takes ten-thousand hours to become an expert in your craft. Be it playing the violin, designing buildings as an architect, or in my case, writing. I probably will not spend ten thousand hours penning this book, but it is the combination of my experience since becoming serious to my craft back in 2006, that accounts for the hours required to make me proficient. At least more experienced than some, who have spent one-thousand hours. To become a subject-matter-expert (SME) in any field requires time and hard work.

Back to our "fruits."

In speaking about the idea of the "pursuit of perfection," Paul writes in the second sentence of Galatians 2:2, "I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain." Paul constantly evaluated his purpose with a keen eye. He not only wanted to follow Jesus and His command to spread the Gospel story; he wanted to proceed, continually, until his mission was complete.

A good example is when he returned to Jerusalem after fourteen years. In the first sentence of verse two Paul says, "I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles." This verse precedes the second above, and is the entirety of Galatians 2:2.

While we will never reach the blameless and sinful walk that Jesus exemplified, the pursuit of perfection is what we wants to see. Are you reading the Bible each day? Are you building strong and uplifting relationships with those in your community? Are you learning from other Christians. And are you sharing your story with those that you can make a meaningful impact in their growth and development?

At the end of the Gospel of Matthew we find verses 16-20 which embody, succinctly, the command known as the "Great Commission." It can truly be summed up in verse 19. We read in Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

These verses follow Jesus's Judas betraying Jesus, the Last Supper, His arrest, Jesus's judgement before the Sanhedrin for supposed blasphemy, Peter denying Jesus 3 times, His crucifixion and death on a cross, His burial and His resurrection.

The point I am making is that pursuing Jesus, using the principles laid out in the "fruits of the Spirit," will draw us closer to Him. It is not about claiming Him, it is about having and developing a relationship. It is about growth. It is about community. And it is about evangelism.

We can find the tools in our proverbial "tool box." The proverbial arrows in our quiver." Some we will simply have to sharpen; while others we will have to study and put into action to develop. Our God is an on time God. He will submit to, and bring to us His presence at the exact moment, and at the exact time that we need him.

Start with reading the Bible. Move on to your "community of faith." Develop and hone your God-given skills and abilities. Define your mission. Go to the people; the masses.

Start small. As we "win" at the mile-markers in our race, He will grow and develop us to reach the next. Think of your "race" as stepping stones. Some will be smaller to climb, others larger. Having faith in the process, waiting on God's instruction and following through with evangelism will allow you to reach "higher highs." A great friend once told me that God will repeatedly show us the lessons that we need to learn until we learn them. We will be frustrated somewhat, as we learn. It is that faith in the process that will foster growth.

You may start by studying the "fruits of the Spirit." Each of these principles, independently, or in combination, will help you grow. Call on God first for guidance. He is our ultimate authority and our ultimate teacher.

He will make the roadblocks smaller and smaller as we learn until we can hurdle them and go onto the next in our race.