“By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23a NRSV)
Saint John of the Cross said that those
who know God and what He is doing have three distinguishing characteristics --
tranquility, gentleness, and strength. That suggests to me an immense depth, an
invulnerable steadiness, an ability to respond with kindness and care for
others out of a center of quiet rest.
Frenzy,
fury, hysteria, intensity, impatience, instability, pessimism, and every other
kind of fuss and ferocity are marks of an immature soul. Those who know “that
God works in tranquility,” as one old saint put it, are not like that. They
share the calm and quiet nature of the One “who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” (Ephesians
1:11)
-- David Roper in “A Beacon in the Darkness: Reflecting God’s
Light in Today’s World”
#4685
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