The Facts on Fruity Faith
The Facts on Fruity Faith
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)
The other day I was interested in going to the local grocery store to pick up some produce. Speaking of grocery store, as a kid I never referenced the nomenclature. Supermarket, convenient store, grocery store were all basically called “the store”. As I was saying, the purpose of my recent trip to the grocery store was to look for some fruit. Upon entering the produce department, I did not casually select a few items and leave. The fruit I was looking for had to be examined in order for me to entertain the idea of taking it home for my enjoyment. Just as God designed various trees with the ability to produce fruit, He also gave us the capacity to produce spiritual fruit for the purpose to being shared by the body of Christ to enjoy. Just as I subjected the fruit in the store to an examination, God also wants us to examine our spiritual fruit.
In our opening text, the Apostle Paul gives us a description of spiritual fruit. I like to refer to the fruit mentioned in this passage as the nine anointed attributes that our Father wants us to produce in our lives as His children. I believe that Paul begins with love because all of the other spiritual fruit is an offshoot or sprout of love.
It’s important to note that real fruit is produced to be eaten and enjoyed. Real fruit, unlike wax fruit, is not for admiration or décor. (What type of fruit are you producing? Wax fruit or the real thing?)
One of the most important reasons why we need real fruit in the body is that people around us are famished for a family that forwards love, joy, peace, and all the other fruit of the Spirit. When they discover them in our lives, they know that we have something of which they are deficient. This creates in them a desire to taste and see that the Lord is good!
We do not produce fruit for our own benefit. We produce fruit that others might be nourished and encouraged, and more importantly that Christ might be glorified.
The bottom line is the secret dynamic for producing fruit is the Holy Spirit. He alone empowers us to fulfill the law of love, to emancipate us from the flesh and evict the desires of the flesh in order to produce fruit.
Question: Are you producing fruit that leaves people with a mouthful of wax? Or does the fruit you produce offer a mouth-watering, delightful and divine experience?
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR