But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:22-23
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
When you accept Jesus in your heart as your savior, or “get saved”, (different terms, same end result) you receive many gifts in addition to eternal life with Him in heaven. When we get saved, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and wants to bear His fruit in our lives. We call these the “fruit(s) of the Spirit”. Let’s look at a breakdown of each one:
- Love: affection, giving of self to others
- Joy: gladness
- Peace: quietness, rest
- Longsuffering: patience and endurance
- Gentleness: goodness, kindness
- Goodness: virtue
- Faith: belief, persuasion, reliance
- Meekness: gentleness in humility
- Temperance: self-control
When we look at this list of the fruits of the Spirit, we recognize these are all attributes of Christ. He exhibited all of these in the way he lived here on Earth. As he is our example, we should strive to exercise these gifts in our own lives. We have the ability to live this fruitful life because the Holy Spirit (Jesus in spirit form) lives within us when we accept him as our savior. This concept fits right along with the very creation of the world itself. In Genesis 1 this truth is taught, that whatever seed is planted, that is the kind of fruit that will be produced. “… and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:12b If you still have the seed of evil, your lost nature, planted within, you will bear evil fruit. If you have the seed of Christ and salvation within, you SHOULD bear spiritual fruit.
Are we allowing our spirit to be fruitful? Does your true nature shine forth to others? As we approach Thanksgiving this week, let us remember to add these attributes of Christ to our list of things to be thankful for. And let’s all strive to exercise them a little more in the coming year! Have a great week.
