The
other day I was in our local grocery and was delighted
with the exquisite selection of fruit. There were apples,
oranges, pears, kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries,
raspberries, grapes, mangoes, to just name a few. I
ended up with a watermelon because I was really hungry.
Like the local grocer encouraging us to take
us much as we want of whatever we want God display of
the fruit of the spirit is equally enticing. The fruit
of the spirit benefit the believer in his personal maturity,
in his service to others, and in laboring together with
God. All the fruit are beneficial in all aspects of
life. Certainly longsuffering is a benefit to me, but
where it really benefits me is in working with other
people.
The first three (love, joy and peace) primarily
benefit the individual. The second three (longsuffering,
gentleness and goodness) are very useful when working
with others. The last group of three (faith, meekness,
and temperance) predominantly deals with obtaining results
as we labor together with God. I Corinthians 3:9 says,
“For we are labourers together with God….”
We are never left out in the cold, so to speak. God
is actively working within us and with us.
LABORING
TOGETHER WITH GOD
| |
Activating |
Encouraging |
Guarding |
For the
individual
|
LOVE |
JOY |
PEACE |
For ministering
to others
|
LONGSUFFERING |
GENTLENESS
KINDNESS |
GOODNESS |
For bringing
forth results
|
FAITH
BELIEVING FAITHFULLNESS |
MEEKNESS |
TEMPERANCE
SELF-CONTROL |
Love
is the beginning and the foundation of all the fruit
of the spirit. It activates and energizes all of our
godly service. It is a freewill decision. We must exercise
a deliberate choice to love. We love God because He
first loved us (1 John 4:19). He shed His love abroad
in our hearts by the spirit that dwells in us (Romans
5:5), and now it is our privilege to operate it.
Joy encourages us in our walk
with God. The joy of the Lord is our strength. It provides
resilience to our lives. God wants our joy to be full,
for we will be encouraged in our labor when it is (Nehemiah
8:10; John 15:11; 16:24; I John 1:4; II John 12).
Peace is a guarding fruit. It is to rule in our hearts.
The great cargoes of life come in over quiet seas, and
our peace with God maintains our quiet seas. It is opposed
to disorder and has a quieting and comforting effect
on us (Philippians 4:7; Colossians 3:15; I Corinthians
14:33).
Longsuffering allows us to persevere
when working with people. It bears the offenses and
injuries of others without retaliation. It provides
impetus to continue to work with people despite their
imperfections and shortcomings.
Gentleness or kindness is a
quality that encourages others when we work with them.
It is the opposite of harshness and abruptness. It is
not sentimentality and is demonstrated by our willingness
to actively seek occasions to bless others.
Goodness refers to one’s
uprightness. It has a lot to do with making the right
choices. It shows one honorable with moral integrity.
It guards us when working with others by upholding godly
standards for ourselves as well as those we work with.
It is evidenced more by a love of doing what is right
than a fear of consequences from doing what is wrong.
It makes one competent to counsel and admonish others.
Faith or faithfulness allows
us to appropriate results as we labor together with
God. It shows us faithful, trustworthy, and reliable
as workers together with God. It provides an aggressive
perseverance so that we remain faithful doing the Word
of God so that we might receive His promises (Hebrews
10:36).
Meekness encourages results.
Without meekness we will not receive the things of God
(James 1: 21,22). It is a disposition of mind that encourages
us to discover, appreciate and ponder truth. It encourages
us to accept the words and ways of God without arguing
or stubbornly resisting. It allows for training and
development and fosters growth.
Temperance is the strength of
resolve that allows us to stay out of the strongholds
of the weakness of our flesh. It provides for success
by allowing us to follow through with the instruction
without wavering or faltering due to the imperfection
and weakness of the flesh. Just like love is the springboard
and foundation of all the fruit of the spirit, temperance
or self-control is the conclusion and consummation of
all the fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit
begins with love and ends with self-control.
If we want to walk like Jesus Christ did and
if we want to be more Christ-like, then we operate the
manifestations of the spirit and produce the fruit of
the spirit. Fruit is like a mark of quality, a stamp
of approval. God gave us holy spirit to do in us and
for us that which we could not do in and of ourselves.
God wants to be actively involved in our lives. He is
our loving heavenly Father who works in us to will and
to do of His good pleasure.
When you look at the fruit of the spirit what
interests you. Hungry? Take us much as we want of whatever
we want. God has an unlimited supply.
