Galatians 5:22,23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
There are lots of bugs floating around and infecting countless people at this time of year, some of which are truly debilitating. May you avoid all the nasty ones, but I hope you’re not immune to the following bug. Be warned, it’s powerful. It’s the Advent Virus. Signs to look out for include contagious hope, love, joy, and peace. The hearts of many have been exposed to it. If it spread to epidemic levels, it could pose a serious threat to the fairly stable and consistent level of conflict in the world. The impact could be truly earth-shaking. Other major symptoms include the following:
Frequent attacks of smiling, contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature, an increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen, an increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it, frequent and overwhelming episodes of appreciation, a tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences, an unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment, a loss of interest in judging other people, a loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others, a loss of interest in conflict, and a loss of the ability to worry.
If infected, what might be the outworking for you? It could lead to mending a quarrel, telling someone ‘I love you’, forgiving someone who’s treated you wrongly, giving something away anonymously, visiting an old or lonely person, being especially kind to a colleague, lending a listening ear to someone in obvious distress, turning away wrath with a soft answer, paying for a struggling couple to go out on a date, caring for someone infected with a nasty virus… the potential is endless.
We’re in Advent. Joy to the world! May you catch the bug and be truly infectious as a carrier of the Good News!
Lord, I choose to be chronically infected with the Advent Virus today. Amen!
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