25^th January

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Galatians 5:23-24

When you plant a seed, you expect the fruit of that seed to be what you planted right? It would be pretty shocking if you planted a tomato plant and an apple tree starting growing. You would feel deceived by the packet and probably by the person/shop that sold it you. So it is the same with our lives. Our packet may be labelled ‘Christian’ but if we live according to the desires of our sinful nature, we will constantly be scattering fleshly seeds which in turn will bear fleshly fruit, (full list found in verses 19-21).

Yet if we live in the Holy Spirit and by His guiding, we will produce fruit in accordance with His nature. Think about Jesus. His roots were firmly planted in the Father and He truly produced Godly fruit. He was kind, loving and patient will all He met, even the marginalised of society. He was faithful, full of goodness, joy and peace. He was so gentle, taking our burdens and carrying them on the cross for us. Finally, when He was tempted by the enemy, He stood firm and showed self-control to overcome the enemy’s lies. Jesus is still all those things today.

That same Spirit, is the Spirit that lives in us; The person of the Holy Spirit. He lives to guide and lead us and to produce fruit in accordance to God’s nature. Notice that verse 22 doesn’t say that these fruit are something we can produce on our own, but rather it is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our hearts and lives that produces these fruit. May we be daily, consciously asking for more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Not just an infilling but an overflowing of Him in all we do. May the seeds we sow, bear good fruit.