The Fruit Is Available to You

”But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:16-26

The imagery of cultivating fruit in our lives is such a powerful and helpful way to demonstrate growth as Christians, and one to take note of. Just as trees aren’t able to abundantly blossom and produce fruit if they are without sunlight, or water, or proper care - God is revealing to us that we are the same in terms of cultivating the fruit of the spirit. If we do not feed our faith consistently, and expose ourselves to the bright light of Christ’s love, we will not be fruitful with our lives. We also must understand that we cannot produce this fruit on our own because we will never grow in isolation. In order to produce good fruit we have to seek help from the Lord and trust the Holy Spirit will guide us in all righteousness so we can sprout good seeds that will turn into solid, fruitful trees. It is only through Christ that we can work on turning away from immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and turn towards a life characterized by joyfulness and fruitfulness.

We are cultivating fruit when we adhere to His Word and not to our personal pride, will, hurts, or dilemmas. Through fertilizing our faith by continuing to read and study the Word and praying fervently, our faith will produce the most beautiful fruit imaginable, for us and for those around us as we are called to live a life that is filled with fruitfulness that benefits us, others, and glorifies our Lord.

I can attest that as my faith has grown, through studying and learning more and more about God’s grace and mercy, the relationships in my life have become clearly set apart by loyalty and compassion, even when we sin against one another. Isn’t it beautiful the way that we, as God’s people, can blossom through faith? If we have Jesus in our lives, we will continue to radiate the fruit of the Spirit to everyone around us as God continues to prune us until we get to be with Him in Heaven!

Prayer:

Thank you Lord that because of Jesus, and nothing that I have done, that I am able to be called your Daughter. I pray that we, as your beloved Daughters, will all desire to cultivate more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I pray Lord that you will continue to lead us in ways that produce the most fruit in our lives for Your kingdom, and for our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.