THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
Some months ago, I walked by a spot where we had thrown some pepper seeds. The pepper seeds had sprouted and in a few weeks, a pepper plant was growing. In a matter of time, the baby plant had grown and began to bring out green peppers. Soon we could pluck ripe peppers for the preparation of our meals.
Yes! Pepper seeds when planted will become a tree that produces pepper. An orange tree will grow and produce orange fruits. What then does the Holy Spirit produce when He is planted in our hearts?
The bible says in Ephesians 5:22; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…”. Reading this verse I notice that the bible mentions fruit in the singular and then went ahead to list several virtues. The beautiful implication is that all of the virtues are embodied in the first one, love. The fruit of the Spirit is Love.
When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, He’ll be seen by others by the fruit, love. Love reflects itself in a joyful countenance, peace notwithstanding the circumstances, patience in trial and with our various expectations, kindness to others, goodness, gentleness in demeanor, and self-control at all times.
It is possible to teach a man to act politely and exhibit self-respect in many contexts. However, when such a person experiences tension, provocation, or lack of supervision, it is possible to see him display contrary behaviors than that which He has been taught. The key to exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit is not in long lectures and speeches. While the knowledge of what is required of us as Christians is important, we also need a power that’s beyond us to enable us to display the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we will love others naturally as a flower naturally leans towards the sun. We would exhibit patience and kindness as naturally as an orange tree would bear an orange plant. Therefore the secret to proper Christian behavior is intense connection.
In Psalms 51: 11, David prayed to God, saying, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” This was an expression of His heartfelt desire to have the Holy Spirit dwell in him. This desire should also be the Christian’s prayer. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we would bear the works of the flesh. We would see traces of idolatry, sexual immorality, jealousy, anger, hatred, abuse of authority, unholy speech, etc.
Take time to evaluate your actions in the last few weeks. Do you find yourself stumbling more often? Do you lose consistently in the battle against pride and anger? Would your spouse, siblings, or roommates describe you with the words; joyful, peace loving, and gentle? If these questions strike chords in your hearts that fill you with guilt, then there’s a need to ask that the Holy Spirit dwell in your heart and cause you to bear the Holy fruits of love. Praise God for the privilege to surrender and let Him do the work. As God has promised, He would be the one to work in us both to desire and to do His good pleasures (Philippians 2:13).