In the letter Paul wrote to the christians in Galatia we can find in chapter 5 the following well known verse:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Notice that the word “fruit” is written in singular form. This means that the 9 character traits Paul mentions are one complete package given by the Holy Spirit. When I look at my own live it’s sometimes overwhelming to compare myself to the standard Paul sets for the church. Who can truly say these 9 character traits are always present in his or hers life? If you’re missing one, then you are missing them all basically. But… I’m happy to say there is a “but”. When we look at the picture above this article we see some grapes. What did these grapes do to grow? Are they able to grow them selves? No they cannot. They need the tree they are growing from and especially the water the tree provides to make the grapes grow. So in fact Paul is telling us that if we want to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we need to be filled by the Spirit.
How do we make sure that we stay close to the Holy Spirit in our busy lives? First we have to talk to Him on a daily basis. That means we give thanks for our blessings, we ask for forgiveness for our sins and we discuss our challenges in live and seek His wisdom in all decisions we have to make. Secondly, let’s keep in mind He uses His Word, the bible to speak to us, so reading it on a daily basis is just common sense and will help us big time to grow close to God. Third thing I would like to add is that surrounding yourself with good Christian friends will help you in your walk with the Lord. If you do this consistently you will notice that the fruit of the Spirit will become more and more visible in your life. Often your good friends will notice it before you do.
Soon, Jesus will come back to get His bride. Are you ready? He is looking out for a bride filled with the fruit of the Spirit! Can I get an Amen?
