Ironically, these two men are often caricatured as promoting a
religion of wild emotional excess, when in fact they took pains to insist that a life
of love and
joy does not rule
out reasoned reflection or active social involvement.
If you are being bullied or abused in the name
of religion, if you suffer the heavy yoke
of legalistic rules and authoritarian church leadership, Jesus is calling you
out of that life and into a new one, where the fruit
of the Spirit isn't coercion or fear, but rather love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self - control.