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I'll never forget the scene. It was three years ago this Christmas and my wife and kids and I drove to an apartment complex in a nearby barrio to deliver some Christmas presents to a poor family whose father was in jail. We were all excited to deliver these presents to the children, but we were apprehensive too. We weren't sure what we'd find there. Broken windows and graffiti covered walls? A gang of teenagers roaming the street? Upon arriving we discovered that it was indeed a poor, rundown neighborhood, but it was quiet and seemed safe enough. We were still a little uneasy though, so I gave my wife the car keys and she and the kids waited in the car while I got the presents out of the trunk and walked them up to the door.

When I rang the bell an Hispanic boy of about six years old peaked at me through the window curtains. His eyes got big when he saw the stack of presents in my arms. Apparently he ran and told the other kids in the house because there was an excited commotion inside with kids screaming, laughing, and bouncing off the walls. Suddenly, everything quieted down and the mother came to open the door with some of her kids peering around at me from behind her dress. Using my limited spanish I said, "Estes presentes esta para tu familia in el nombre de Jesu Christo. El padre de los ninos mucho amor para tu." One of the kids shouted out something about "Papa" and the mother smiled and said "Gracias." I smiled said "De nada" and left, as the kids started ripping the paper off the packages before they even left their mother's hands.

We need that same excitement when we open up our presents from our Father who is in Heaven. He has nine wonderful presents for each of us, called the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We often think of these characteristics as describing how we ought to be, but, as we'll discuss below, this can spoil the fruit if we're not careful. These are fruits of the Spirit - nine expressions of God's care for us, nine soul-nourishing fruits we need to eat and to share with others who are hungry.

In Jesus God became a man who walked the earth carrying a bottomless basket of his fruit for hungry people. God still passes out His fruit today. Whenever a friend listens, the sun rises or sets, a Good Samaritan helps, a bird sings, and in countless other ways, God is there reaching out to show his love. Yet, so often we miss these divine gifts, don't we? Why do we let ourselves go hungry when the fruit we long for is being passed out all around us? I think it's because of attitude problems. Instead of eating the fruit of the Spirit sometimes we eat the spoiled fruit of negative attitudes towards ourselves and other people. This spoiled fruit can make us so sick and nauseous that we can't eat the good fruit from God that nourishes our souls. What is this spoiled fruit you ask? Well, just as there are nine fruits of the Spirit I've identified nine spoiled fruits. They are best understood by being illustrated. Consider the following negative, unloving statements that I hear many people, even people who believe in God's love for them, repeating to themselves over and over again (and they may say similar things about other people too):

* "Nobody cares about me. I just have to manage on my own."
* "I'm not very special."
* "I shouldn't feel this way. I'm too emotional (or too sensitive, or too weak, or too needy.)"
* "C'mon what's the matter with me? I've gotta hurry and get this done and get it done right."
* "I don't have enough time (or energy, or care, or money) to give to others."
* "I can't let anyone see this part of me. It's bad."
* "I'm afraid to trust anyone with this."
* "What's the matter with me! How could I make such a terrible mistake?"
* "I want to do it anyway (even though it's bad for me)."

Uggh! That is negative self-talk, isn't it? Seeing it right here on the page in black and white it's hard to believe we'd say such things about ourselves or anyone else. Yet sometimes we do, don't we? And when we do we're eating spoiled fruit. The name's of these spoiled fruits that contradict and clash with the fruits of the Spirit are isolation, low self-esteem, denial of feelings and needs, performance pressure, stinginess, shame, fear, self-criticism, and impulsiveness.

These enemies can lurk continuously in the shadows of our hearts waiting to pounce on us and make us feel and act badly. We need to shine a light on this negative, unloving thinking and challenge it aggressively by reminding ourselves of God's goodness towards us and others. The Bible is a book full of powerful, positive possibilities about God and his love for us. For instance, meditate on the following sample of Bible verses that put all nine of the fruits of the Spirit right out on the table for us to eat and pass out to those who are hungry:

* "He guards [his people] as the apple of his eye" (Deuteronomy 32:10).
* "He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17b).
* "In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6b-7).
* "Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you...." (Psalm 37:34a).
* "Give, and it will be given to you...." (Luke 6:38a).
* "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
* "There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24b).
* "But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
* "Keep my commands in your heart, for they will... bring you prosperity" (Proverbs 3:1b-2).

Wow! Now that's some good soul food! How can we enjoy these heavenly gifts every day? Let me explain with a metaphor. Imagine a huge, beautifully decorated circular banquet table full of the fruit of the Spirit with open seats around it. The table is set up right in the center of a grand ball room with festive music playing. On each wall is a door. You can join the party, dance to the music, and feast at the table of his love by entering any one of four doorways:

1. Thank God for certain ways that he has shown you his love (e.g., use the Scriptures above or recall answered prayers from the past).
2. Draw near to God and sing out your love for him.
3. Help someone in need.
4. Ask a friend and God for the support you need.

Whichever door you enter in it'll lead you to the others. That's because love is circular. God, who is love, seeks to make his love complete in us by reaching out to us in love in a multitude of ways, inviting us to love him, and encouraging us to love and be loved by others. (See 1 John 4:7-21). I call it the circle of love. To be a part of the circle of love just step into ball room through any door with a positive, faith-filled attitude and let love do it's work in you. Because when we receive God's love we can't help but want to share it. And when we love God we can't help but be loved by the God who is love. And when we give to others out of a loving heart we receive even more than we gave (as I did when I gave the presents to the poor children). And when a friend loves us we feel God loving us too and want to give that love back to others and to God. Truly, when it comes to love, what goes around come around.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the most powerful expression of God's love, his Christmas gift to us! Aren't you excited to open your Christmas present from God? You don't have to wait until Christmas. God's love is always available to us. Step into the circle of love today. Dance in the ballroom and celebrate God's goodness. Sit at the banquet table, invite others to join you, and together feast on the fruit of the Spirit. Just pick a door and open it: thankfulness, worship, helping someone in need, or asking for the help you need and you'll be celebrating the gift of God's love for you!