The Fruit of the Spirit
MUSIC BLOG
JUNE 20, 2024
The Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-24
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
I love gardens. The very idea a person can put a seed in the ground, add water, sunshine, pull weeds, and break up the ground periodically until, voila, you have “produce” to pick, eat, can, and share.
I have never had an extensive garden like my dad always had, nor have I kept up with my brothers in that regard. I have tried to keep a few tomatoes here and there and maybe a green pepper or two. The admiration for a beautiful garden is still in my mind. I do take the opportunity to go to a garden and get produce or an orchard and get fresh apples, peaches, blackberries, or blueberries. You can’t beat the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables!
We always endeavored to grow as much in our garden as we could. My dad wanted us to be self-sufficient in that way. There were some items on which we relied on others. We went strawberry picking in May, Peach picking in June or July and apple picking in October. Our garden supplied the rest of our summer and winter vegetables. My mother canned 300 quarts of green beans and almost as many quarts of tomatoes. We froze corn, peas, and cantaloupe, and gave a lot away. Peaches were always a huge treat; to go and pick as well as to eat and can.
My favorite orchard was an orchard/restaurant called Stephenson’s. it was the first farm-to-table restaurant that I knew of. Many menu items in the modestly upscale dining establishment came from the orchard and farm surrounding the restaurant. Stephenson’s was famous for their apples, but their peaches were the best bar none. I still remember my first visit to the orchard. The grass around the trees had been newly mowed. There were so many people in the orchard picking fruit. The orchard supplied bushel baskets and we supplied the labor. The trees were loaded with the biggest fruit I had ever seen. Some of the peaches were as big as a baby’s head! When we were picking my dad drove us the Alberta section. They were freestone and large. There were some white peaches that we would always get just a few. They were best for eating because they got bruised easily. My dad taught us kids how to pick the fruit, and to carefully place them in the basket so they wouldn’t bruise. We would get at least two bushels of peaches and the cost back then was about $20 a bushel. (a few years later, we returned to Stephenson’s to discover the price of peaches had doubled. We looked for other orchards after that!)
I love peaches and apples. I enjoy most fruits and vegetables to be truthful. How strange would it be if you bit into a peach and it tasted like an apple, or worse yet, asparagus? God says to us in Galatians 5 that the Spirit living in us will bear fruit in our lives. The fruit in our lives will look like Jesus is alive in us! We will be peaceable, kind, good, faithful, gentle; we will have self-control. We will be a peach that not only looks like a peach but tastes like one too! Many Christians carry the name of Christ, but they do not always have the flavor, and aroma of Christ. That begs a question. Why not?
Think about it. The Holy Spirit is indwelling God’s people. We have God at work in us, living in us. The Spirit is working in us to bear fruit to the fact that He is indeed in us and still, we don’t smell or taste like the fruit previously described. That is a strong disconnect. If God is at work in us and we are not seeing any results to that effect, then there is something happening to thwart God’s efforts. Could it be that we are doing things that are inhibiting or even stopping our lives from bearing those precious spiritual fruits? What situation are you going through that would not be helped, aided by a good dosing of Love, or Joy? How about some good old-fashioned peace, with a healthy side of patience? God wants and needs those attributes exuding from our lives to flavor and nourish the circumstances in which we will find ourselves. These fruits are not just good things. These fruits are necessary for us and those people who surround us. Fruit is not something that we work at. Fruit is a result. Fruit happens when we pray, read the Bible, witness, trust God in difficult times, and show faith. Faith happens when we use the armor of God. Fruit is a result of us allowing God to fight our battles. We don’t need to focus on the Fruits of the spirit as much as we do being obedient in our daily lives.
Life is better when we take a minute to assess our lives. I know that I have even as I type. Maybe this is a good time for you to do the same. I want to be a blessing in every situation in which I find myself. I can only do that as I stay focused and in the Spirit of God.
Blessings,
Marty