The Fruits Are Available to You

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, 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.