GOD WOULD HAVE US ALL PRODUCE SPIRITUAL FRUIT IN ABUNDANCE

Apples, pumpkins, and a host of other autumn fruit are tempting and delicious. Let’s make our spiritual fruit of the Holy Spirit tempting and delicious to everyone we meet.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES             By Sally Bair

Fruit in Abundance

Since moving close to Lake Superior some years ago, I’ve learned a lot about the flora unique to the area.  One thing I’ve learned is that apples and other fruit grow in superabundance up here. The local orchards are located in a sort of mini-climate that offers the perfect conditions for growing apples.

Summers and fall are busy times of picking berries and cherries, vegetables and apples. Hundreds of people pay to pick their own or they buy the luscious produce outright. Festivals entice customers from all over, the famous, annual apple festival drawing over 50,000 people. Orchards offer apples to pick and buy, and they sell tasty apple treats along with a host of other apple-related products. This year, like so many other years, the orchards have produced a superabundance of  their fruit.

God wants us to have a superabundance of spiritual fruit, too.  Like apples, we need to grow in conditions that will cause us to bear much fruit for Him. When we live by faith in and through His Spirit, we will not want to gratify the desires of our sinful nature.  Instead, we will want to be led by the Spirit and, consequently, produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (See Galatians 5:22-23.)

“Every good tree bears good fruit.”  (Matthew 7:16)  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be like a good tree bearing good fruit for God’s kingdom. 

Notice that the first fruit mentioned  is love.  All the others are founded in love.  “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love,” a song tells us. 

God’s love dwelling in our hearts brings about the perfect conditions for producing fruit for Him. Then we will produce the joy of the Lord.  We will live a peaceful life that spreads to others.  We will become patient with those around us even in the midst of stress and strain.  We will show kindness to all people.  We will show God’s goodness through our own.  We will be gentle with our words, rather than harsh.  We will remain faithful to our Christian faith and others can depend on our word.  And we will learn self-control in all things.

Such a list sounds downright unattainable, doesn’t it?  But we can remember that with the Spirit of God, all things are possible. 

Lord, we ask You to give us a superabundance of the fruit of Your Holy Spirit.  Above all, help us demonstrate Your love to every person we meet.  In Jesus’ name, amen.