GOOD FRUIT, BAD FRUIT

THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

By Deb Gorman

Galatians 5:16, 22-25 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

It’s harvest time in the Yakima Valley.  As my husband and I walk through the orchards in the early morning, the delicious smell of ripe fruit fills the air.  Who can resist biting into a tree-ripened apple just picked, with the crispness of the fall air still upon it?  There’s almost nothing better!

The grocery stores are filled with the handiwork of our enterprising farmers.  I sometimes feel sorry for the big-city dwellers having to import everything!  We’re so fortunate to live where we live.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually just a walk or short drive away.

God speaks a lot about fruit in His Word.  In the passage above, we’re taught to “live by the Spirit”.  Living by the Spirit will help us to resist the pull of the flesh.  But what is “living by the Spirit”?  Well, it’s fruit!  That wonderful, delicious Spirit-fruit that happens when we obey our Lord! 

Let’s contrast that thought for a moment with something else.  Have you ever opened your refrigerator and noticed that nasty smell that signals fruit gone bad?  Now the Spirit-fruit will never go bad-we know that!  But when we choose to disobey God by not being saved; or as believers we choose to disregard his instructions for living we find in His Word, you can bet the fruit we produce from that kind of life is going to stink up everything and everyone around us.

I’ve made some choices in my life that produced some pretty nasty fruit, and unfortunately, I still get a whiff now and then of that smell.  That’s called “consequences”.  That smelly fruit I produced so long ago created some conflicts in my life that still rear their ugly heads.  God never told us we would never smell that nasty fruit again; He just tells us we’re forgiven for producing it and to go on and start making that fragrant fruit we’re called to make!   

So, the next time you’re taking a walk and see that delicious fruit or you’re in the market picking out apples and pears, ask yourself:  what’s in my refrigerator?  When I open that door, is the fruit I’ve produced rotting?  Or are the smells fragrant and the fruit delicious? 

Walking in the Spirit produces the kind of fruit that makes the heart of God glad.

Thank You, God, for showing us how to

Produce good fruit.  Please help us to keep walking in the Spirit,

Obeying everything You ask us to do, so the fruit

We produce will be peaceable and everlasting. 

We love You!