Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Fruit of the Spirit



The Fruit of the Spirit
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV): “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

            “Fruit” is defined as the sweet and fleshy product of a plant that contains seed and can be eaten as food.  Therefore, fruit is living, and pleasant.  Fruit contains seed to reproduce life and nutrients to sustain that life.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives is living and pleasant.  It, too, contains the seed to reproduce itself in our lives and in the lives of others and is nourishing to sustain that fruit in our lives.  

            Because the Holy Spirit indwells the life of every believer, the fruit of the Spirit is implanted in our spirits at the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  However, like fruit in the natural, fruit in the Spirit must be cultivated.  Our hearts must be fertile soil, rich with living out the promises of God. Fruit, whether natural or spiritual, must be watered in order to grow and reproduce.  Ephesians 5:26 describes the Church as sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word. The Word of God is living water that cleanses, refreshes and energizes our spirits. Time spent in the Word invigorates our spirit man just as a delightful spring rain invigorates the orchard.

            Just as a natural fruit tree must be pruned to achieve maximum production, pruning is necessary in the spiritual growth process of the each Christian.  Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2 NKJV).  The pruning process may seem painful in the moment, but the result is eternal fruitfulness. 

            As believers, we have received the fruit of the Spirit.  The question is will we allow the Holy Spirit to nurture that fruit within us?  Will we walk faithfully in the promises and hope of the Lord?  Will we be nurtured, cleansed and sanctified by the Word of God?  Will we mature and reproduce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and in the lives of others?  Will we, by faith, sustain the fruit of the Spirit in spite of our circumstances?  Please note that each question above begins with “will”.  The answer then lies in our free will either to accept the cultivation of the Spirit or to reject that cultivation and continue in the unfruitful experiences of our past.  

  In the moment of creation, the first commandment the Lord gave to man was to be fruitful.  Because God had breathed His spirit into man, being fruitful has relevance both in the natural and in the spiritual.  During this new season, let us covenant with our Lord and allow Him to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so that we might be spirit filled, life-giving and nurturing in our daily lives and activities.

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