The Fruit of the Spirit

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." ~ Galatians 5:22-23.

As this year began I started reading through the Bible with a yearly reading plan but I also felt drawn to study this portion of scripture about the fruit of the spirit.

Growing a fruit-filled life seems beyond our grasp....does this mean I have to be "nice" all the time.....24/7, 365? What does a woman look like who displays the fruit of the spirit in her life? I could never manage to juggle all of these qualities and my daily responsiblities.
I think over the years as I have read these verses I was afraid to dig deeper to see what the Lord wanted to teach me about them because I thought I could never grow every single fruit in my life....I felt over-whelmed. As I focus on the words, Love, yes, please Lord I want to be a loving person. Patience, yes, I want to be patient with those around me......kindness, goodness, and the list continues. Attractive qualities that I desire & I definately want to produce them in my girls lives.

Thr truth is that being fruit-filled is about being like Jesus. Letting His Love, His Kindness, His Peace invade my life so that it overflows into the lives of my family and those I meet every day. The fruit of the spirit grows as I let Him live these qualities in me & through me as I grow in my relationship with Him. The fruit of the spirit is diplayed in my life through my personality, how the Lord has shaped me. Love, kindness, patience or any of these qualities will look different in each one of us because it will be displayed in our lives as we individually yield ourselves to Him.

It is about living a life connected to God. In Galatians 5:19-21 describes the fruit of a life lived that is disconnected to God and then we read vs. 22-23 that describe the fruit of a life connected to God. Spiritual fruit is what results in our lives when we are rooted & established in Christ.

So what is spiritual fruit? How do I grow this in my life and what is the purpose? How can I evaluate my fruit? and How do I offer this fruit to others? These are a few questions that I will share with you this week. The fruit of the spirit is about being like Jesus.