Greetings everyone…
We are about to enter Lent…that contemplative season which calls us to repentance and deep thought regarding our faith. We will be visiting the Fruit of the Spirit through the season. For that reason, I share the following devotion on that subject. It is a devotion I read long ago…but still find it appropriate. Please join us for this important season as we look toward Easter and the foundation of our faith.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
Which do you prefer—mealy, tasteless apples, or crisp, tangy apples? Almost certainly, you prefer good fruit, right?
Jesus compares good fruit with godly living. Luke 6:43-45,
and in our passage today, Paul uses fruit to teach us something about the work of the Spirit.
Just as a sick or dying tree will bear bad fruit, people who are dead in sin are prone to sexual immorality, impurity, hatred, discord, and jealousy, among other things. The person whose heart has been made alive to Jesus Christ, however, naturally produces good fruit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Which fruit looks more appealing to you? Good fruit, right?
Unfortunately, no one can produce good spiritual fruit on their own. That effort is doomed to failure. Only with the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts can we know Jesus and begin to produce the life-enriching fruit of the Spirit. Working together with the Spirit, we bear the marks of a godly life in our daily living.
What kind of fruit are you producing? Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit is a handy guide to see how you’re doing in your walk with Jesus. Ask the Spirit today and every day to work in your heart to produce good and wholesome spiritual fruit.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, forgive us when our lives produce bad fruit.
Please send your Spirit to produce in us fruit that is
pleasing and glorifying to God. Amen.
Be blessed, Everyone!
