Fruits
of the Spirit - Are You Bearing Them?
Fruits of the Spirit
What are the fruits of the
Spirit? According to Galatians 5:22-23 they
are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness
and Self-Control. In order to bear this fruit, it's going to
take diligence, hard work and lots of faith.
The Bible
is filled with symbolic references of fruit.
God is
the gardener, Jesus Christ the vine, and we the people, are the
branches.
Branches as you know, are what the fruit grows on, and if the branches
don't bear fruit, well, they are cut and thrown away. (John 15:1-6).
Bearing
Good Fruit
So, how do we go about bearing fruit, and good fruit at that?
First, we must be connected to the vine of course, Jesus Christ.
"Yes,
I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me,
and I in them, will produce much fruit, for apart from me you can do
nothing". (John 15:5-6).
Secondly, we must act.
 "The
seed is God's message. The seed that fell on the hard path
represents those who hear the message, but then the Devil comes and
steals it away and prevents them from believing and being saved.
The rocky soil represent those who hear the message with joy.
But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very
deep. The believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot
winds of testing blow. The thorny ground represents those who
hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded
out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And
so they never grow into maturity. But the good soil
represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to
it, and steadily produce a huge harvest."' (Luke 8:11-15).
As mentioned before, it takes faith to consistently produce good fruit.
When we do produce, God prunes us to bear even more fruit.
This pruning takes the form of challenges and testing that
occur in our daily lives. These challenges are not meant to
discourage us, but to help us grow.
God's Holy Spirit
To receive God's Spirit
all we need to do is repent.
"...Each
of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:3-8)
Repentence means to change your life around. To give up all
the negative aspects of your life and turn to positive, life changing
activities.
When we bear the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control - we become
a blessing to others because it is only when we give of ourselves to
others, then the fruit will grow and ripen.
Bearing good fruit means much more than receiving everlasting life, it
is ensuring that we live a happy and prosperous life now.
"...those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around
with sinners, or join in with scoffers...are like trees planted along
the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their
leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1,3).
Understanding the Power of God's Holy Spirit
Bearing the Fruit of Love
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