”If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (v. 25)

Do you remember writing term papers in school?

The grades weren’t just given out willy-nilly, were they? No, the teacher used a rubric, a breakdown of what would be scored and how. You knew what the assignment was, and you knew what everyone would be looking for when you did it.

Paul (inspired) tells the church in Galatia, “Keep in step with the Spirit.” Live by faith. Move in freedom. Serve with love. That’s the assignment.

But how will we know you are doing that? What’s the rubric?

The Bible calls it the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. (You just sang the song in your head, didn’t you?)

These aren’t your to-do list. They’re the evidence that you’re doing the one big to-do. They’re the way we know you comprehended the assignment of faith and are walking with the Spirit. A vital Christian life will exhibit all of these things.

So examine your life. Look for what we’re all looking for. And check the marks.

Does your life reflect the Spirit’s rubric?

— Tyler