But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law…
Galatians 5:22-23
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 20:11 that
even a child is known by his doings, whether his actions
are pure and right. Whether
we like it or not, we will get a reputation by how we act, how we treat others,
by the friends we associate with, and by the activities we participate in. It is true that character and reputation are
not synonymous, because reputation is what men think you are while character is what God knows you are. The character of a person can be defined by the
fruits they show in their life.
What are the Fruits of the
Spirit?
When my kids were younger I used to tell them that the Fruits of the
Spirit are the good things that come out
of our lives when Jesus is in our
lives. When we have a relationship with
Jesus as our Savior, there should be a difference in our life. People who know us should be able to see that
difference, as well as strangers we meet every day. It is not just a matter of becoming a
Christian, it is a matter of having a relationship
with Jesus – praying, studying the Bible and growing daily in our relationship
with Him. When we neglect our
relationship, the fruit doesn’t grow, much like a plant you might forget to
water. The plant will not produce much
fruit if you don’t feed it. We need that
daily refreshing and filling of the Spirit to keep ourselves in line. It is hard enough when we are prayed up and
ready for whatever Satan throws at us to have control over our words and
actions and keep them God honoring. It
is so much harder when we are out of fellowship with Jesus. We need to pray and saturate ourselves daily
with God’s word and ask Him to cover us with His grace that we can extend to
others. This grace and so much more will come out when the fruits of the Spirit
are evident in our lives.
Fruit is used a lot in the Bible in comparison to what we produce in our
lives. It can be good fruit or bad
fruit. When we walk in the flesh, we
produce rotten fruit, but walking in the Spirit will produce life giving
sustenance. God is the master gardener
and Jesus says in John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the
branches. If you remain in me and I in
you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. When we draw from Him, we can
bear lots of fruit and Jesus can use us for His glory in this broken
world.
When we have committed our life to Jesus and live to please Him, the
natural result in our lives will be choices that reflect Him. Fruit. What is the fruit on a plant you have been
pruning and watering and caring for? The
fruit is the reward. The fruit of the
spirit is the reward for living a life that is faithful and diligent. It is a reward to have fruit in your life and
to be known for it. The glory certainly
does not go to us but a life filled with fruit is much more rewarding than a
life that is not filled with fruit. The
Spirit inside us contradicts our old sinful nature. Living a life in our old sinful nature that
is not obedient and God honoring will certainly bring more pain and struggles
than we have to endure. There will be fruit, but not good fruit. It will be fruit that reflects our old sin
nature. When we have the Holy Spirit, we
produce fruit that reflects His nature. The
fruit happens because of Him and for Him and for us as well.
This week we will look at the nine fruits of the Spirit: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Of
course we are human and cannot exhibit all these attributes, all the time. This week open yourself up to the Holy Spirit
and ask Him to produce more good fruit in your life and to destroy the opposing
sinful nature.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
