Fruit Of The Spirit

If what's inside a person is good, then the fruit of that person's life will be good. But if what's inside is rotten, the fruit of that person's life will be bad. Any person who has received Jesus as Savior and Lord and has Christ living within will bear good fruit--the "fruit of righteousness" (Philippians 1:11)--as God shines forth in his or her life.

The fruit of the Spirit has been described as "those gracious habits which the Holy Spirit produces in the Christian." In Galatians 5:22-23, the apostle Paul lists these "gracious habits": "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness , self-control." I'm sure that, like me, you've undoubtedly longed for these noble traits to be characterisitc of your life--but how can we make that happen? "Perhaps if I just try harder..." we may find ourselves thinking. But Jesus teaches and models that such individual, do-it-yourself effort isn't the answer. Instead, it's exciting and comforting to realize that the fruit of the Spirit can be produced in our lives in the same way that it was produced in Jesus' life. We will enjoy a harvest of spirituality when we yield to God and allow His Spirit to work in us as we walk through life.

As you and I walk together through God's list of the fruit He deserves in our life, we'll look not only on their beauty and bounty but also at each individual fruit. But we must never forget that all nine fruits stand together. None of them can be missing, and all must be evident to be God's fruit. All of the these fruits act as one, they are borne in our lives in the same way. Everything that is said of one characteristic is true of the eight. They are one and the same fruit, interwoven and related to one another, produced as we look to God.

Paul called believers to "walk by the Spirit" and since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit, (Galatians 5:16,25), then we would be abiding by the Law in a natural and beautiful way.