“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.”
– Galatians 5:22-23
At a recent checkup with my doctor, she recommended that I add more fruit to my daily diet. “Some of these dietary supplements you’re taking are naturally found in everyday fruit,” she said. “They’re much healthier for you than taking vitamins, and they’re also less expensive.”
Admittedly, I don’t eat a lot of fruit. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy fruit really. I do enjoy eating apples, grapes, pineapple, melons, and bananas. But for some reason they rarely find their way on my grocery list, unlike snack cakes, cookies, and potato chips. Perhaps therein lies the crux of my problem. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the taste of fruit; it’s just that I’ve never established the desired craving for them.This got me to thinking about the role that the Holy Spirit has on establishing different cravings in our lives, and how it can replace the unhealthy junk food from our diet with healthy fruit, spiritually speaking.
As we look at Galatians 5:22-23, we notice that Paul has named nine types of fruit that the Holy Spirit produces within us. I think it’s practical to break them down into threes, akin to a spiritual fruit trilogy.
The first three spiritual fruit Paul talks about are Love, Joy, and Peace. These are the inward part of the fruit trilogy, as they come directly from God. The second three are Patience, Kindness, and Goodness. These are all interconnected and branch outward to our relationships with others. And the last three fruit Paul talks about are Faith, Gentleness, and Self-Control. These are the overall traits that characterize the Christian Life, and all nine of these fruit together reveal Jesus’ perfect nature to us.
Jesus goes on to tell us in John 15:1-4:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.“
This fruit is a by-product of the Spirit, which means that self-cultivation is impossible. So it is our responsibility to align our lives with Christ, to remain connected with the vine, and then allow God to do His necessary pruning.
But each of these fruit has significant importance in the overall life of a Christ follower. So in the coming weeks, I hope to spend a little time here and there to share some practical thoughts on what the Bible says about them.
Former Blackout Artist 