On Trial- Fruit of the Spirit
If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? We can get so consumed with the deeper questions of our faith or simply get too busy to think about this question, and forget the basics of whether we're actually living and looking like a Christian. This week I will look at the topic of Fruit of the Spirit. If you were on trial for being a Christian, would the evidence show that the Fruit of the Spirit are overflowing and spilling out of you?
This past summer I read a book on the Fruit of the Spirit. Patience and joy in the midst of challenge are my struggle areas, but the Holy Spirit used that book to convict me on the purpose of the Fruit of the Spirit. God is wanting us to shine with these fruit in our lives. All of the fruit listed in Galatians 5 are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All of these nouns and two adjectives represent some facet and personality of God’s character.
When we love- have an unselfish concern for others; when we have joy on our faces and in our actions during some of life’s most darkest hours; when we have peace in the midst of chaos; when we have patience- not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting; when we are kind to the unkind; when we are good to those who don’t deserve mercy; when we are faithful but want to give up and move on to the next thing; when we are gentle in deed, words, and action; AND when we exercise self-control to not give into our flesh then we too are living a life that reflects the personality of God’s character. We too, are taking on his personality and character into our own. And you know what? We look different from the world and that’s what God wants, a remnant, a people that look, talk and sound like Him- not the alternative, which is the devil (the world).
It’s not easy to live out the Fruit of the Spirit, but it is possible and only with the help of the Holy Spirit. When we are aware and consciously striving to live out the Fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives we look like the name of our faith: Christian. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16: “you will know them by their fruits.” So what kind of fruit are you giving off?
If you were convicted of being a Christian, the evidence will have to show that you have a committed relationship with God and that you’re striving to live out the Fruit of the Spirit in your life. If the evidence is lacking in this area of having the Fruit of the Spirit show in our lives, then how can we consider ourselves as being true Christians?
Sit and reflect if whether there is evidence of whether you’re truly allowing the Fruit of the Spirit to reflect in your life.