“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22–23, ESV)
Our Verse of the Week this week is Galatians 5:22-23. This is a well-known passage that describes the Fruit of the Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit are produced through a Spirit-filled life. They do not come from working harder or trying to be a better person. They are the result of God dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit.
They are called “fruit.” When you think about fruit, you recognize that you do not manufacture fruit. Fruit is not something you make. It is God who grows the fruit. Without God, there is no fruit.
But the gardener still plays a role. The gardener plants the seed. Jesus talks about seeds. He likens seeds to faith (see Matthew 17:20). The seed of faith planted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit is what produces the fruit of the Spirit. Without faith, there is no fruit of the Spirit. So it starts with the seed, but there is more.
The gardener also waters the fruit. When we think of water in relation to God, we think about baptism. There is the Word (Bible) and Sacraments (Lord’s Supper and Baptism) by which the seed of faith is nurtured. Without that nurture from Word and Sacrament, the seed does not grow.
Of course, there are the weeds that grow up. The gardener must take care to pull the weeds. The weeds are the things that lead us astray. We monitor what we watch and what we consume that is not edifying for us and leads us away from the abundant fruit of the Spirit. When we become consumed by the things not of God, the fruit of the Spirit will become choked out.
Finally, know that the fruit of the Spirit is produced in community. A garden is not made up of just one plant, but many plants. Faith is not meant to be experienced in isolation of others. Jesus teaches us to pray “our” Father, not “my” Father. Do you have someone you regularly pray with and discuss the application of the Scriptures? If you do not there is a good chance you are not experiencing the fruit of the Spirit as abundantly as you might.
I pray this day that you will experience the full abundance of God. May the faith planted in your heart produce a rich harvest that enables you to share that abundance with others.
BJ murphy says
Recently, there was a post that addressed praying to the Holy Spirit.
Please direct me to this reading.