Fruit of the Spirit

Week Eight

Fruit of the Spirit

Until a few years ago, I wasn’t even sure what the fruit of the spirit was or how we got it. But the Lord is teaching me daily how to develop this fruit. If you think about fruit and how it is formed, you will understand this process a little better.

First a tree has to be mature enough to bear fruit. If a tree is too little, it cannot stand up under the weight of the fruit. So new Christians and those who are not really growing in the faith probably aren’t ready yet to produce much fruit. That is okay, it is the natural progression that produces the fruit.

That being said, those Christians who are mature in their faith, those who have been walking with the spirit for years should be producing much fruit by now. If you are a mature Christian and you aren’t producing fruit, then something is wrong.

What exactly is the fruit of the spirit? In Galatians 5:22, 23 we find out. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” This fruit is the works that take place in us when we let the spirit of God control our lives.

Love is one of the most important ways that people know we are Christians. The new testament speaks continuously about the love we should have for one another. God so loved the world, Jesus loved us enough to die for us, the Spirit loves us and longs to dwell in us. We should exhibit this same love toward those God puts in our pathway. If we look at others with God’s eyes, we will see that everyone is a person of worth to God. He wants them to know that he loves them. How can we show that love? What can we do or say to someone today to let them know that God loves them? Who showed us the love that God had for us? What did someone do or say to us to let us know about that love?

Joy is something that is lacking in so many Christians and I can’t put my finger on why. We have so much to be joyful about, the very fact that we will spend eternity with God, the promises of God that he is with us always, the hope that we possess and the very fact that we are children of the king of the universe! What is so hard about being joyful?

Yet, if you go into any church on Sunday morning, the folks sitting in the pews and the choirs look so serious and as if they were baptized in vinegar. Why do we take ourselves so seriously? I am just as guilty as anyone else - how do we get the joy of the Lord into our worship services so that those who have never experienced God will know that he is not a mean God, but one who wants us to be joyful.

Being joyful is not the same as being happy. Happiness depends on circumstances going on in our lives. Joy is something that is deep inside us. We can be joyful just as Christ was joyful. Even as he went to the cross the Bible tells us that he knew that what he was enduring was going to bring about the salvation of all mankind and he had joy for the end result of his sacrifice. Our joy may not always be evident, but it should always be present in our hearts.

Peace is a fruit that should be obvious to everyone we come in contact with. If we are fretful and worry about everything how can we be a witness to the fact that God is in control and that he will provide for all our needs.

How can we become peaceful in the midst of problems? Every time we find ourselves losing our peace, we need to call upon God. Our prayers should focus on him and the very fact that he is a God who is able to bring order out of chaos, he is a God who is able to calm every storm, he is God who is able to give us words of peace when those around us are speaking words of anger and hatred. Turn to him to find peace.

Patience is a fruit that seems hard to develop. When we have the least patience that is when we can develop this fruit. My own experiences with patience have been in traffic, I use the opportunity to pray for those in the cars around me. That they would make it safely wherever they may be going. I pray for folks in the store while I am waiting in checkout lanes. I pray for little children who are crying and upset when I really want to join them by being upset also. I have found that being in the middle of situations that require patience is the perfect time to pray. I turn to God to find patience.

Kindness is a character trait that seems to come easier than most. When we are truly trying to be Christlike we know that being kind is one way to be like him. This is a fruit that is obvious to everyone and most non-Christians point out this fault very quickly when they know you are a Christian. If you have family members or co-workers who know that you are a Christian, they will tell you very quickly if you have done something unkind. It usually sounds like this, “Why did you say (or do) that? I thought you were supposed to be a Christian!”

Goodness rates right up there with kindness. It is not possible to always be good, but that is a goal that every Christian aims for. How can we be good? And what exactly is goodness? It is a conscious act of the will. We have choices in everything we do, we can choose to do things in a good way or a haphazard way. Example, making a bed. We can choose to make the bed in a good way as if Jesus himself were going to sleep in that bed, or we can choose to throw the covers up so that it looks okay on the outside, but maybe not so good underneath.

We have the ability to do good every day in all we do. Of course, our good works do not get us into heaven, but our good choices can make a difference here on earth.

Faithfulness is a fruit that requires time. A person can be faithful for years and then decide that they want to live a different lifestyle and abandon the old ways. Faithfulness is not wavering, it is a decision to stick with the Lord no matter how hard life gets, to believe his word no matter what others think or say, to stand up for our beliefs no matter if it means that we are persecuted for our faith. Faithfulness is a fruit that endures, it doesn’t spoil or rot. This is a fruit that others will see in you and want to have themselves. This is a fruit that we need to share as often as possible.

Gentleness is a fruit that comes with humility. To be gentle we must first be humble. Many of us equate gentleness with being a doormat or being wishy-washy. But Christ was a gentle man, he was not pushy yet he spoke with authority. He was not violent yet he is the king of kings. Jesus was mild mannered yet he turned the world upside down with his teachings. If we are to possess gentleness, we need to remember that our words should be chosen wisely, that our actions should reflect our adoption as sons and daughters of the king of the universe, and that our faith should be practiced daily, not just when we are in church.

Self-Control is the hardest fruit to develop because it means we give up control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. We let God take over control of our lives and use us so that he may be glorified. Self-control means telling the flesh no over and over again. The flesh may want something 50 times a day, but we have to continue to say no. Eventually, the flesh will get tired of asking.

An illustration can be found in not giving in to anger. If someone points out that I have made a mistake at work, my first reaction may be to tell them off or to point out one of their mistakes. My defenses go up when I am attacked or when I view something as an attack. But, if I stop before I react and ask God to help me respond, I am showing self-control. Eventually this becomes a habit, when we feel our defenses go up, we automatically ask God for help. We turn to him for help in controlling our emotions.

Ultimately, we turn to God for help in each one of these areas and he will help us grow and develop the fruit. His spirit wants us to become just like Jesus and will not stop doing a work in us. I have heard it said that we should all be “fruity Christians”. The type of Christians that others pluck our fruit all day every day.

Heavenly Father,

We do want to grow and be loaded with the fruit of your spirit. Help us daily to become more Christlike and to exhibit this fruit in our lives. May we remember to ask you for help as we grow in these qualities and may we be spiritual fruit trees to glorify you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.