“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
Galatians 5:22-23
Mmmmm. Doesn’t this tray of fruit make your mouth water?
Juicy. Flavourful. Packed with fibre and vitamins and minerals and natural sugars, fruit is a refreshing, healthy, and tasty way to fill our tummies. Think of the textures, the colours, the amazing variety of shapes and tastes and growth habits and uses of fresh fruit.
Which is why it’s so interesting that the apostle Paul calls the results of salvation, the natural outpouring of God’s grace in a person’s life, fruit.
When we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we become a part of God’s family. And a big part of this spiritual ‘adoption process’ is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Somehow, God shares His presence, His gifts, His power so that we are transformed from the inside out. We begin to change. We develop new habits, a new focus on pleasing God. We begin to develop characteristics that resemble our new Father.
Fresh fruit.
And look at that delicious list of flavours!
Love. Joy. Patience. Kindness. Gentleness. Self control.
And a lovely helping of peace.
All of these desirable characteristics reflect God’s own character. From the moment we trust Him with our lives, He is at work to produce proof that we belong to Him – in the way we see and respond and choose and treat others.
You know. Fresh fruit.
Delightful, delicious, life-giving fruit. Packed full of vitamins. A tasty gift to all those around us, who are so, so hungry for authenticity and truth and love.
And peace.
As we continue to diligently draw near to God in humility and repentance, God will continue to build into us the qualities in this extraordinary list, in order to help us to impact our world for the better.
Allow God to build some fresh fruit into your life with me?
Father, what a glorious way to work with us to draw others to Yourself, in providing us with Your very own characteristics. Continue to grow these traits inside our hearts and lives as we trust You. Help us to be generous in sharing this fresh fruit with those around us. Amen.
Growing in Grace 