GALATIANS 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

TO PONDER

It is interesting that Paul uses the picture of fruit. The fruit we get from plants takes months and years to produce from the planted seeds. First the seed has to be planted, watered and fertilised to get it to sprout. Then it takes time to grow into a plant or tree, during which time it has to be cared for, again with watering and fertilising, but also with removing unwanted plants which may compete for its nourishment. When it matures and begins to flower, it needs pollinators, generally bees, to get the fruit to set, and then the fruit need to be protected from pests (insects, birds, possums) which spoil or take the fruit.

So when Paul talks about fruit of the Spirit, he is referring to aspects of our character and personality that develop over time as we spend time with the Heavenly Family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and are fed (fertilised?) by what we see, hear and do as members of this Family.

So, if we are aware that we are not producing one or more of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in our verse, we need to go to the gardener for Him to investigate the source of the problem and prescribe the appropriate remedy. Actually, He has known all the time what the problem was, but He does want us to admit we have a problem and bring that problem to Him. Even if we have a good idea of what the root cause is, the remedies we come up with may not be the best ones.

Social media and advertising are full of solutions to the problems we are facing, and even of the problems we didn’t even know we had. But they are mostly about how to fix me and my problems, not in how to have me outwardly focused on living the fruit of the Spirit in my relationships with others. As you look through the list of fruits of the Spirit, you will notice that they are all aspects of our relationships with others. This makes sense when we think of agricultural fruit, it is for the benefit of others, to provide nourishment and enjoyment of others. In the same way, the Spirit produces fruit in us to bless and encourage others and draw them too into the Heavenly Family.

So when we are not producing fruit, the best answer is to surrender to the professional gardener and let Him do what ever pruning, watering and fertilising is needed for us to mature into the healthy plant He wants us to be.

Prayer: Heavenly Gardener, I surrender my whole self to You to do whatever husbandry is need in my life for me to grow to being productive in the fruits that You want me to produce. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping