A life that bears fruit

If you’ve been around the church for a while you’ll likely have heard of the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit is comprised of the following character traits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and we find it in Galatians 5.

But what is it?

It’s like a rubber band ball tightly woven together, each band interconnected. The only way to produce the Fruit of the Spirit though is to have the Holy Spirit in you. This initial step happens when we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If a person doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, they don’t belong to Jesus, it’s really that simple. The key here, if this is the case, is it’s impossible to grow the fruit of the Spirit in one’s life if you don’t have that connection. We receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation, when we make a conscious decision to follow Christ and let Him be the Lord of our lives. Then, through the Holy Spirit, you can begin to grow in the Fruit of the Spirit. Here are some thoughts on living a life that 'bears fruit'. Let's jump in!

Growing fruit takes patience

As with any fruit, we won’t see it and enjoy it right away. We won’t see evidence of the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives the second we surrender our lives to God. Fruit starts from a seed and that seed contains everything for the plant to begin and produce more fruit. In order for a tree to yield fruit it goes through a cycle where it must be planted in good soil, it must be nurtured, it must have a light source; it must be watered until it reaches maturity. The fruit is initially a seed, then a seedling, then a sprout, until it’s a fruit (ripe for picking!). What does this mean for our spiritual condition? First comes the planting, which happens when we accept Jesus into our life and then the WAITING for the fruit to grow and then ripen.

Growing fruit takes time

This is not just a ‘spiritual’ thing but very practical, especially in days like we’re facing. Growing in fruit means growing as a disciple of Jesus. This is not just about letting your light shine but also helps you to deal with the stress and pressure of our Covid world. Sound good?

Here’s the thing, just like in nature, our spiritual growth takes time. Just like seeds, we must be planted in good soil, nurtured and watered. What this looks like, practically, is a lifelong work of submitting all of our life under God’s authority. We grow in knowledge of God through his Word, and grow our love of God through knowing him and obeying him. We come into spiritual community through our church and grow under the learning of other believers. We renounce old sin tendencies and through the power of Christ’s strength, learn to walk in obedience. We die to our old selves and put on our new self in Christ Jesus. When we do that, we’ll find ourselves being transformed as the seed bursts forth into fruit. While it takes time (and you all know how patient I am!) it’s so worth it!

More to come on this next week!