The Fruit of the Spirit

“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

Fruit is something that grows naturally. When a person gets saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of them. The Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). The presence of the Holy Spirit within us naturally bears fruit in our lives. We can recognize the work of the Spirit of God within us when we begin to see the attributes listed in the passage above manifested in attitudes and actions. As Christians, we should be able to identify these characteristics in our interactions with others as well as in our thoughts and prayers. Fruit grows naturally, but it also grows gradually. If you were looking at an apple tree that had no fruit on it, you would not see a completely ripe apple suddenly appear. If you passed by the tree every day, one day you might notice a tiny apple sprouting from one of the branches. A few days later, you might notice a few more. Those apples would not be very impressive at first, and they would not taste very good if you were to pick one and eat it prematurely, but if you were willing to wait until the end of the growing season, you would have a harvest of delicious apples that you could enjoy. If the list in the passage above is discouraging to you because you see very little of this fruit in your life, don’t despair. Try spending a little more time in God’s Word and prayer and be patient as the Holy Spirit causes His fruit to begin to grow.