I don’t know about you but I love fresh fruit. No canned fruit for me. And if I can get something straight off the tree or bush all the better! Growing up in the Puyallup valley I ate my share of fresh blueberries, raspberries, apples, and blackberries. To this day I can smell and taste the sweetness of the fruit. I never gave a thought to the fact that I was enjoying the result of a healthy tree/bush. It was normal for the plant to produce what was inside of it. So it is with the Fruit of the Spirit. Let me explain…you don’t work for the fruit of the Spirit, it is simply a result of a life submitted to the Spirit. I have known people (and I have been a person) who tried to “produce” fruit of the Spirit simply because it should be produced. Needless to say this produces empty results. Sort of like plastic fruit on a fake tree. Hmmmm…anyway, when we followers of Christ simply live a life in humble submission and honor of our Lord and rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit, then natural, real, sweet, and abundant fruit will be shown out of that life. In addition, just as I enjoyed the fruit off the tree, others around us will enjoy the fruit that is produced out of our life! Be encouraged…the fruit of the spirit is not the impossible dream to work for, but the simple result of a life well lived!
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
The Cracked Pot... 