I know I have touched on the subject of “fruit of the spirit” here several times. Paul coins this phrase in Galatians 5:22. Although the exact phrase is not always used, this idea of “fruit of the spirit” is discussed other times in Scripture as well (for example, Colossians 3). Jesus, Himself, talks about fruit. Fruit of the spirit is, quite simply, evidence in our lives that we are walking by the spirit. It is not strenuous effort on our part to do what is right. Fruit shows up when we are believing truth. When we actually take God’s truth to heart, our actions and even out emotional state are affected in an awesome way. Fruit is the product of truly trusting God, made possible only through a relationship with Christ.
The thought that hit me the other day was this: “Why call it fruit?”. This may have been obvious to you, but for some reason I had never thought about this much in depth. Paul uses the word “fruit” for a reason. When we walk in truth (please don’t confuse this with positive thinking which is just mind games), something special happens. Fruit is produced. Actual fruit, such as apples, bananas, oranges, pears, watermelons, and grapes, all bring to mind something enjoyable to our taste buds. They are filled with nutrients that energize us. They are often sweet. They can be a nice snack or something to compliment a whole meal.
But we can’t just make our own fruit from scratch. Fruit is sourced from certain vegetation that can produce it. It is a miracle outside of our control. We get to enjoy the fruit when we get involved with the vegetation. It’s almost like a partnership. The plant does its part, and we just trust it to do so and act accordingly, expecting the fruit by watering it.
I can now see more clearly why Paul used “fruit” to describe the product of trusting God. He is blatantly telling us how great it is to walk by faith. Contrary to what we may think at times (when faith takes us into difficult places) it is always sweet and enjoyable when we rest in His truth. Paul even experienced fruit while in prison, which still boggles my mind at times when I think about it.
To top it off, I don’t believe for a second that Paul’s list in Galatians 5 is an all-encompassing list. Paul was just throwing out a good list to give us an idea of what kind of profits we have in store as believers. There are many types of fruits to eat and enjoy. There are also innumerable enjoyable products of a trusting relationship between us and our Heavenly Father, because He is, in and of Himself, infinitely enjoyable.
Great Stuff! A really good read.