If We Live By the Spirit

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” — Galatians 5:25

These words from St. Paul present us with a simple but challenging question: If the Holy Spirit truly dwells within us, is his presence evident in the way we live?

As Christians, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit through Baptism, and we are strengthened by his grace in Confirmation. But there is a difference between having received the Holy Spirit and allowing him to guide our lives.

We can profess our faith in Christ, attend Mass, pray regularly, and participate in the life of the Church, and yet still struggle to allow the Holy Spirit to govern our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions. We can profess our love for God while allowing jealousy, resentment, selfishness, anger, and pride to influence the way we treat others.

Paul's words invite us to examine ourselves. If we claim to live by the Spirit, are we also walking by the Spirit? Is the presence of the Holy Spirit evident in our lives?

A Tree That Bears Good Fruit
Psalm 1 gives us a beautiful image of what a life rooted in Christ should look like. The righteous person is compared to a tree planted beside streams of water, a tree that bears fruit in its proper season and whose leaves do not wither.

It's an image of a life that is deeply rooted, continually nourished, and therefore fruitful. Jesus uses a similar image when he tells his disciples: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4)

Then he makes this remarkable promise: “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Notice what Jesus is telling us. He tells us that if we remain united to him, we will bear much fruit. Just as a tree bears fruit because it is rooted and nourished, the Christian bears spiritual fruit because he remains rooted in Christ and nourished by his grace.

We cannot produce this fruit through our own strength. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Our responsibility is to remain united to Christ, to cooperate with his grace, and to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us.

But what kind of fruit should our lives produce?

The Fruit of the Spirit
In Galatians 5, St. Paul describes two very different ways of living. First, he warns against what he calls the works of the flesh. Among these are hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfishness, dissensions, factions, and envy. These are the attitudes and behaviors that emerge when we allow our disordered desires to govern our lives rather than the Holy Spirit.

In contrast, Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23) These are the qualities that should increasingly characterize the life of someone who is walking in the Spirit. They are the signs of a heart being transformed by the grace of God.

The contrast between Paul's two lists is striking. On the one hand, we have love, patience, kindness, gentleness, and peace. On the other hand, jealousy, anger, selfishness, resentment, and division. Which of these two descriptions more closely resembles the way we live?

It's easy to recognize the works of the flesh in the world around us. We see jealousy, selfishness, anger, and division in our communities, workplaces, families, and even within the Church. But the question we need to ask is not whether these things are present in the lives of others. The question is whether they are present in our own lives.

Is This Love Evident in My Life?
Perhaps one of the most revealing ways to examine whether we are walking in the Spirit is to turn to St. Paul's famous description of love in 1 Corinthians 13.

We have likely heard these words countless times, particularly at weddings. Love is patient and kind, it is not jealous or boastful, it does not insist on its own way.

But what happens when we make Paul's description personal? What happens when, instead of reading about what love is, we ask whether these words describe us? 

After all, Paul identifies love as the first fruit of the Spirit; and in 1 Corinthians 13, he gives us a remarkably practical description of what that love should look like.

So perhaps we ought to take a moment to examine our lives in light of his words.

Can I truthfully say:

I am patient.

I am kind.

I am not jealous.

I am not boastful, arrogant, or rude.

I do not insist on having my own way.

I am not easily irritated or resentful.

I do not keep a record of the wrongs others have committed against me.

I rejoice in what is good and true.

I bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

How many of those statements can we make honestly? How many make us uncomfortable?

Perhaps an even more revealing question: If we asked the people closest to us, the people who experience our love every day, would they agree with our answers?

We might consider ourselves patient, but would our spouse or children describe us that way? We might think of ourselves as kind, but how do we treat the people who irritate us or inconvenience us? We might believe that we have forgiven someone, but do we continue to hold their past mistakes against them?

It's one thing to know that love is patient. It's another to be patient when someone tests us. It's one thing to believe in forgiveness. It's another to let go of resentment when we've been hurt. It's one thing to profess that God is love. It's another to allow that love to govern the way we treat others. Nevertheless, this is the challenge St. Paul places before us.

Remaining Rooted in Christ
Of course, if we examine ourselves honestly, we will undoubtedly recognize ways in which we fall short. None of us loves perfectly. We all struggle with impatience, selfishness, anger, resentment, and the many other weaknesses that accompany our fallen human nature.

But recognizing these things should not lead us to discouragement. Rather, it should lead us to repentance and a greater dependence upon God's grace.

This brings us back to the image of the tree planted beside streams of water. A tree cannot produce good fruit if it is cut off from the source of its nourishment. Neither can we.

If we find that our lives are producing more resentment than forgiveness, more jealousy than generosity, or more anger than patience, perhaps we need to examine how deeply we are rooted in Christ. Are we making time for prayer? Are we spending time with the Word of God? Are we receiving the sacraments and allowing God's grace to work within us? Are we genuinely seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or are we simply following our own desires?

The answer is not “just try harder to be patient, kind, or loving.” We certainly must make an effort to practice these virtues, but our efforts must be sustained by God's grace. Jesus tells us that apart from him, we can do nothing. Yet he also promises that those who abide in him will bear much fruit.

The more deeply we remain united to Christ, the more we open ourselves to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. As we cooperate with his grace, his love begins to take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives.

Let us take a few moments to examine the fruit of our lives. Wherever we recognize that we are falling short, let us return to Christ, the source of our life, and invite the Holy Spirit to continue his transforming work within us.

For as St. Paul reminds us:

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)