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 5:22-23 NIV
Fruit
In a large greenhouse just outside Lunenburg, N.S., hundreds of unusual plants of all shapes and sizes are getting used to their new life in Nova Scotia. There are hardy citrus trees from Japan called flying dragon, pineapple guavas with petals that taste like marshmallows, and something called a blue sausage tree that has rows of black seeds surrounded by jelly inside. These are fruits that the executive director of the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association said she hasn’t found at other plant nurseries in the province.
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In the middle of February in Canada it’s good to think about fruit. We don’t produce any this time of the year – but in these days of global distribution, all winter we get to enjoy what warmer parts of the world have grown. In a spiritual sense there is no winter. The Holy Spirit is always at work producing fruit in the lives of God’s people. The apostle Paul writes this in Galatians 5:22-23: “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.” This fruit is produced in a person who is fully committed and surrendered to the Lord Jesus. As we allow the Holy Spirit to prune away anything that would prevent our lives from bearing this kind of spiritual fruit, we will find that we are becoming more like Jesus, who produced this spiritual fruit in His own life perfectly. When we are mature in our faith, we will find we are producing more and more of the delicious spiritual fruit of the Spirit.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley