"All that is contrary to love and peace is of the Fiend and of his part. And we have, of our feebleness and our folly, to fall; and we have, of mercy and grace of the Holy Ghost, to rise to more joy."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 77)
The Christ way is the way of peace and love. Everything contrary to peace and love is the opposite of Christ's way, the opposite of the true way to live. As children of God who are filled with Christ's life, we naturally want to live in peace and joy with God, ourselves and others. Our way is not to be judgmental or unkind, say hateful things, ostracize certain groups of people, hold grudges, or be impatient or selfish or rude. Our way is the way of the Spirit, and the Spirit naturally brings forth in us love for others, patience, goodness and generosity, friendship toward all, acceptance, a unifying influence, forgiveness, understanding, and humility. So we can easily tell God's way and that which is opposite to it: if it is Love, it is God, and if it is not Love, it is not God.
We are not always showing forth the Christ way. It's true that we fail to be in love and peace towards others sometimes. Our bodies are weak and our minds can be foolish, and we can fall into temptation to be judging, unkind, harsh or mean. But just as surely as we will fall sometimes, just as surely will the Holy Spirit raise us up. It is guaranteed. The Holy Spirit will raise us up to new heights of love, peace and joy. We will be raised up and grow even more in the ways of love. We will actually be propelled forward, The Holy Spirit will simply use the failure as a springboard to knowing God better, to experiencing more love and grace, and to growing to manifest more love, compassion and grace to others. This is the wonderful work of the Spirit in us. No failure is wasted. The Spirit of Love simply takes those failures and brings success out of them, takes the unloving things and turns all to more love in the end. The Spirit has such a beautiful and inevitable way of bringing forth the fruit of love and peace in us. We realize we are like a garden God is tending, where love is growing, and the blossoms and fruit will inevitably come forth, even if there are some storms along the way.
"The Lord holds up all who fall. He raises up all who are brought down."
Psalm 145:14 (NLV)
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
A Prayer: Thank You for working even my failures out for good, to bring forth even more love, grace, joy and peace!