Devotional of the week: Fruit that lasts (5 in Fruit of the Spirit series)

Photo: Scripture Printable Fruit of the Spirit by Finleyjaesdesigns.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22–26

We’ve made it! After a few weeks in the series, we’re here at the nine-fold list that you may have thought I would only focus on (if so, sorry to disappoint). Last week we saw the list of vices that result from living by the flesh; this week we learn of the fruit that grows when we live by the Spirit.

Commentators have tried to group the fruit various ways, but probably the best way is to put them all underneath the first fruit that appears – love. Love is the fruit by which the rest flow. When we love, we invite the other fruit to blossom in our minds and hearts.

As you think about the fruit of the Spirit, remember that fruit is something that grows at the command of another – the gardener or God. We may plant the seed, but for fruit to result, we need good soil, rain, sunshine, and protection against birds, disease, and high winds. We may not realize the fruit that God births in our lives, but those around us may spot it. They may see how we clean up after the coffee time at church, week after week, without complaint or thanks. How we reach out to the older gentleman who has trouble walking unaided. How we don’t blow up when yet again our lovely children delay their bedtime.

When I shared the stage with Jennifer Rees Larcombe at a BRF/Woman Alive women’s event a couple of years ago, what struck me was the love she emanated, not only when she was speaking to the many women gathered, but especially when she prayed throughout the day for individuals. She may have been mending from a broken pelvis, but she wasn’t going to be sidelined in the work of God. She was in step with the Spirit.

May you bear fruit for God – fruit that lasts.

Prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love… where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy. Amen. (After St Francis)