Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

As I was reading the verses regarding the fruit of the Spirit, something profound struck me. Maybe you already know this, but I love when the Lord opens something up to my simple mind.

Most Christians have heard about the nine fruits of the Spirit. However, what struck me is the Scripture says "fruit of the Spirit" as in singular, one fruit. I know there have been many times that I've said something like, "Yeah, I need to work on that one." However, as a Christian, we have the Holy Spirit in us, therefore we should have the whole fruit and not just part of it. The end of verse 23 says, "against such there is no law". Which would mean that the opposite of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance there is a law against it.

Verse 24 tells us those that are Christ's have crucified the flesh. Verse 25 tells us if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Although we say we are Christians and have the Holy Spirit living within us, if we do not choose to allow God's Spirit to have full control of our life on a daily basis, we are going to be a wishy-washy Christian. This is not how I want to be. Also in Ephesians, as listed above, we are told to walk as children of light and again it is mentioned that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. I want to be acceptable to the Lord. I understand that by Jesus Christ's sacrifice and His Blood being shed for me and you, and our acceptance and belief makes us His Own. Yet, we cannot ignore the many Scriptures that gives us God's Instructions on how a Christian should live. It is VERY important to God that we show the world, His Fruit, through our lives.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We are not robots that are programmed to automatically be what God wants us to be. God wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. He provided us a way, through Jesus Christ. We must put forth the effort to keep our minds on God. We do this by praying to Him, reading His Word, having fellowship with other Christians. By doing these things on a daily basis, we cannot help but grow in our spiritual life. We become better acquainted with God Almighty and His Great Love for us. How can we NOT want to think about Him?

As we grow in our knowledge of God and His Truth, we are to apply it to our lives. Once we have this knowledge, we must use it.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

I hope and pray that my walk and your walk will become a brighter light to this dark world and that we may help someone to see the source of this Light.

Sharon