Bearing fruit

According to the dictionary, fruit is, “The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.”
The apostle Paul writes:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16-26)
There is an important lesson here. The Fruit of the Spirit are not something you can create on your own. We cannot simply be loving or create peace. Goodness does not come naturally to most of us all of the time. Self-control is not easy to manufacture.
The kind of fruit we bear depends on what kind of seed we plant in our lives. You cannot plant apple seeds in your backyard and expect to grow an orange tree. But, for some reason, people seem to think that they can plant seeds of sinfulness in their lives and hope to bear fruit of righteousness.
If you want to see the Fruit of the Spirit exhibited in your life, don’t start by simply trying to make outward changes. Yes, we need to make efforts to change our behavior. But, the reality is that real change, change that takes root and lasts, can only come when we examine what is watering and feeding our inner-self.
Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” (Matthew 12:33-35)
The question we have to ask ourselves is: What are we planting in our hearts? What are we allowing to shape the way we think? Are we, in the words of Paul, living and walking by the Spirit. Only when we are can we truly bear the kind of fruit in our life that God desires.

shine!
Jason