Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Colossians chapter 3:
12 You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. 13 Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. 14 For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity.
Since Love is the mark of true maturity as Sons and Daughters, we must look at our fruit to ascertain where we are at in our spiritual growth. Paul describes how we should be acting:
5 Live as one who has died to every form of sexual sin and impurity. Live as one who died to diseases, and desires for forbidden things, including the desire for wealth, which is the essence of idol worship. 6 When you live in these vices you ignite the anger of God against these acts of disobedience.
7–8 That’s how you once behaved, characterized by your evil deeds. But now it’s time to eliminate them from your lives once and for all—anger, fits of rage, all forms of hatred, cursing, filthy speech, 9 and lying. Lay aside your old Adam-self with its masquerade and disguise.
Our words, thoughts, and actions will disclose our current level of maturity. Yes, we can withhold our thoughts from being exposed to others but FATHER knows our thoughts. FATHER spoke in Isaiah chapter 55:
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
If FATHER did not know our thoughts, HE would unable to make the above statement as a comparison. We can fool the people around but FATHER will not be mocked in any way. We must take control of our thought life as well as every word we speak. Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 12:
33 “You must determine if a tree is good or rotten. You can recognize good trees by their delicious fruit. But if you find rotten fruit, you can be certain that the tree is rotten. The fruit defines the tree. 34 But you who are known as the Pharisees are rotten to the core! You’ve been poisoned by the nature of a venomous snake. How can your words be good and trustworthy if you are rotten within? For what has been stored up in your hearts will be heard in the overflow of your words!
35 “When virtue is stored within, the hearts of good and upright people will produce good fruit. But when evil is hidden within, those who are evil will produce evil fruit. 36 You can be sure of this: when the day of judgment comes, everyone will be held accountable for every careless word he has spoken. 37 Your very words will be used as evidence against you, and your words will declare you either innocent or guilty.”
If we decide to walk and be led by The Holy Spirit, our destiny has been established in the book written about each of us in Heaven (Psalm 139:16). As we pursue FATHER’S specific Divine Intent written in our individual book, its contents will be revealed. Once revealed, it is up to each of us to yield. Let the following in Psalm 139 be our prayer today:
23 FATHER, I invite your searching gaze into my heart.
Examine me through and through;
find out everything that may be hidden within me.
Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
24 See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on,
and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting ways—
the path that brings me back to YOU.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen!