What is the Fruit of the Spirit and How do I grow It?
You may remember on Sunday I mentioned the fruit of the spirit as part of my message on Jesus’ statement “I AM the true vine”. I went over it quickly but its still on my mind. If you’ve been around the church for a while you’ve likely heard of this. 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 5:22-23
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. 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 (hint: remember ‘abide’ from Sunday?). So, be connected!
Growing fruit takes patience
Okay, so I have that connection with Jesus, now what? 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 Jesus. 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, be nurtured, have a light source and be watered until it’s ripe for the picking. What does this mean for our spiritual condition? It takes patience, it doesn’t happen overnight. When we accept Jesus into our life the process of WAITING for the fruit to grow and ripen begins.
Growing fruit takes time
This is not just a ‘spiritual’ thing but very practical, especially in challenging times. 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 unsettled world. Sound good?
Here’s the thing, just like in nature, our spiritual growth takes time. What this looks like, practically, is a lifelong work of submitting all of our life to 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 step away from old sin tendencies and through the power of Jesus’ 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!
Now go out and grow!
Paul continues his thoughts on spiritual fruit in Galatians 5 by saying, “Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
We often will read (or maybe even memorize) the components of the fruit, but we don’t often look at the impact of it which we see in the verses that follow. My encouragement to you is to read it reflectively and talk to God about how this applies to your life. May we all grow, seeking to live in this manner and let our lights shine. Have a great week!
In His grip,
Pastor Chris