Don't Forfeit Your Fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
As believers, we are guaranteed the presence of God within us (Romans 8). Along with that comes incredible benefits. Paul says in Galatians 5:22-24 that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What Paul is getting at here is that if we have placed our faith in the resurrected Christ we have access to and should exhibit such things. Who wouldn’t want that?
However, I sometimes find myself experiencing just the opposite. Because of circumstances of life, strained relationships, and even my own sin, I have a loss of joy and peace. I am impatient and unkind with others. Because of such things, I struggle with faithfulness to the Lord, and I am not as gentle as I should be. Who wants that?
Here is what I have come to realize. I need to remember and be confident in the rest of those verses. I belong to Jesus and He has, in His kindness, given me unlimited access to the goodness of being redeemed. My problem is, and I am sure I am not alone, is that I forfeit love, joy, peace, patience, and so on to the undeserving altar of my circumstances and my flesh. Oh how easily we can convince ourselves that the fruit of the Spirit is out of reach for us at certain times. That is just not true if we believe what the Bible tells us.
It is all a matter of faith in God’s ability and not our own. The text says that it is the fruit of the Spirit and not the fruit of our own power. So, how do we embrace this more? A dear friend made this statement yesterday. He said our fruitfulness is in direct proportion to our abiding in Christ. Oh, how true this is. So, if you are like me and sometimes lack the benefits of the Spirit, simply go to Jesus. Spend some time with Him. Remember His love for you and how He has proven it to you through all He has done. He is near! Don’t forfeit the fruit of the Spirit to something that does not deserve it.
As believers, we are guaranteed the presence of God within us (Romans 8). Along with that comes incredible benefits. Paul says in Galatians 5:22-24 that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What Paul is getting at here is that if we have placed our faith in the resurrected Christ we have access to and should exhibit such things. Who wouldn’t want that?
However, I sometimes find myself experiencing just the opposite. Because of circumstances of life, strained relationships, and even my own sin, I have a loss of joy and peace. I am impatient and unkind with others. Because of such things, I struggle with faithfulness to the Lord, and I am not as gentle as I should be. Who wants that?
Here is what I have come to realize. I need to remember and be confident in the rest of those verses. I belong to Jesus and He has, in His kindness, given me unlimited access to the goodness of being redeemed. My problem is, and I am sure I am not alone, is that I forfeit love, joy, peace, patience, and so on to the undeserving altar of my circumstances and my flesh. Oh how easily we can convince ourselves that the fruit of the Spirit is out of reach for us at certain times. That is just not true if we believe what the Bible tells us.
It is all a matter of faith in God’s ability and not our own. The text says that it is the fruit of the Spirit and not the fruit of our own power. So, how do we embrace this more? A dear friend made this statement yesterday. He said our fruitfulness is in direct proportion to our abiding in Christ. Oh, how true this is. So, if you are like me and sometimes lack the benefits of the Spirit, simply go to Jesus. Spend some time with Him. Remember His love for you and how He has proven it to you through all He has done. He is near! Don’t forfeit the fruit of the Spirit to something that does not deserve it.
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