Growing Good Fruit
The Fruit of God’s Spirit, which is described in Galatians 5:22 & 23, is something I think about often. Growing “good fruit” is a spiritual outcome I desire. Examining the “fruit” my life produces is the standard by which I assess my spiritual growth.
To accomplish this, every few months, I conduct a personal “fruit” inspection of my own soul. (I try to avoid inspecting other people’s “fruit,” but admit I am not always successful!)
The other day, as I was thinking about the progression of spiritual fruit in my own life, I began contrasting and comparing each fruit mentioned in Galatians and came up with not-so-admirable “fruit” which often emerge in my thoughts, emotions, and even behaviors:
For example, I think the opposite of LOVE, which I believe is the overriding fruit from which all other good fruit grows, is RESENTMENT, a worm that wiggles its way into my soul, zapping energy and creativity.
Then, there is:
JOY vs. DESPAIR
PEACE vs. AGITATION
PATIENCE vs. ANNOYANCE
KINDNESS vs. WITHDRAWAL
GOODNESS vs. HARSHNESS
FAITHFULNESS vs. MOODINESS
GENTLENESS vs. WISHY-WASHYNESS
SELF-CONTROL vs. INCONSISTENCY
If what I’ve described makes sense to you, I’d invite you to say a prayer for awareness, and then, with no condemnation—because above all, God is love—do your own honest assessment. Each of us is unique, and your contrasts will most likely differ from mine.
In closing, I appreciate how Nicky Gumble, an English Charismatic Anglican priest and developer of the Alpha Course, describes the Fruit of the Spirit.
Blessings on our journey!
