Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Something I heard on the radio recently made me stop and think about this.  I was wondering about the manifestation of this fruit in the lives of Christians, and what it means if this fruit is missing.  I believe that if a person is 'Born Again', then there will be some sort of manifestation of that in their lives.  I am not saying that they will suddenly become the great Christian who can do no wrong, what I am saying, is that, in some way they will be different.

The difference may just be a nagging when they are doing wrong- at the point of Salvation, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell within you, so you have an additional conscience poking you in the heart when you know you are doing wrong.  Maybe it's a sudden desire to make things right with other people, or maybe the activities you enjoy just loose a little of their gloss.  Whatever it is, there will be something.

As a person grows in their relationship with God, there ought to be an obvious change in their lives.  This is shown to us in Galatians 5, when we read what the Fruit of the Spirit is.  I wonder how many of us (myself included) are showing some, or any, of these fruit?  A Christian should have an underlying joy in their lives- even in times of sorrow and hardship.  A Christian should be gentle (I don't mean soft, there is a difference between being a coward, and being gentle,) humble, and slow to anger.

After reading Galatians 5, I started to wonder about the world of Christianity in today's day and age.  I was wondering if we exhibit these Fruit of the Spirit, or is their no difference between us and the world.  Do our Facebook posts honour God, or when our children read them in years to come, are they going to be ashamed or hurt by it?  I have, in the past, been guilty of some harsh words, but I know, when it comes down to it, our actions will typically be a representation of our walk with God.

I hope this will encourage you to think about what your actions are saying concerning your walk with God, and how the Fruit of the Spirit is reflected in your life.

Jim