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Each Sunday after our Pastor gives the benediction at the end of the service, he always says to us, “Now, go and be the church.” In other words, live out the truth that you’ve heard today. Make it real in your life wherever you are. So, I’m using his challenge to us as we consider the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22 – 23
As Christ-followers need to take very seriously this directive to bear this fruit. So, my challenge for us is to “Be the fruit.”
To answer the question of what it means to “be the fruit,” I want to look at each of them and offer some suggestions of how you implement this fruit in your life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, so obviously it has to be a Spirit-empowered endeavor. But it won’t just happen unless we as disciples of Jesus Christ determine to “be the fruit” each day.
Let’s start with that first one: LOVE.
Here’s what someone wrote and I think it is a great way to be the fruit of love: True love needs a personal touch. Here’s a way to show people you love them in an unexpected way. Get a package of blank greeting cards and make a list of friends and family – especially the ones you don’t see often. Write them a short note that shares how much you appreciate them. Send your cards out at random far away from any holidays or birthday. Let the little love note surprise them!
Now, that is a practical way to be the fruit of love. And cards have a greater impact than an email, so spend a little money, buy a few stamps, and surprise some people with words of love.
Next is JOY. Joy should be the trademark of a Christian. When you are joyful, your strength increases, because the joy of the Lord is your strength. There is so much negativity and bad news in our world today that if you’re not careful, you can let the enemy steal your joy. That’s one of his favorite tactics. So, what’s been stealing your joy? Or I might ask, who has been stealing your joy? Whatever or whoever it is, realize that it is a satanic flaming arrow coming your way from the enemy, so put on your full armor and refuse to lose your joy. How? Sing good songs all day long. Find the humor in your day. Laugh a lot; laughter is incredibly good for you. Look for reasons to be happy, to be joyful.
Now we come to PEACE. Jesus said he would give us his peace, his unique peace that is strong enough for the toughest circumstances. So, have you ever gone to Jesus in prayer and said, “Please give me the peace you promised. I need peace.” I heard a statistic that 40% of all people in our country today are in some kind of depression or despair. Have you noticed how many people are searching for some kind of peace in this craziness? Remember, Jesus’ peace is not like the peace that the world offers. That peace is a bandaid; it seeks to make you feel better with a temporary pain killer, but it just makes things worse.
Peter wrote that we should seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3:11). Maybe you need to learn to take peace breaks when your day is going south. Just stop, find an alone spot, refocus your mind on Jesus, quote a verse to yourself and pray for the peace Jesus promised to give you. Pursue peace; go for it. Be the fruit—be peaceful!
FORBEARANCE is next in this list of the fruit of the Spirit. We call it patience, and it can be one of the most difficult fruits for us to practice, at least it is for me. But there are so many opportunities in your day to practice patience, right, and patience takes practice. So, pick one situation where you find it particularly difficult to be patient, and start working on it. When you go to the store, stand in the longest line to check out and make yourself wait. Talk to yourself, like: “Just cool it. This is not a big deal. You can wait a few minutes—it doesn’t change your life.” Something like that. That is bringing your thoughts into captivity and learning to re-direct your thought patterns. And it is a good way to discipline yourself; to be the fruit—to be patient.
Maybe you could use driving as a way for you to practice patience. Be kind to bad or slow drivers. Don’t yell or call other drivers names when you can’t get into the lane you need to. Keep at it until you see a difference in the way you drive and how you feel when you step out of the car. Go, be the fruit!
KINDNESS is next, and we all know what that means, right? No doubt, like me, you’re generally pretty kind to people you don’t live with, to strangers, to people in places of authority. Your words are likely kind and pleasant, but what about the people closest to you? I find that I can be least kind with my dear husband. Unintentionally, of course, but words come out in a harsh or hasty way, without thinking of the impact of how they sound. Thankfully, my husband doesn’t let me get by with it.
And you know, that’s one way to be more kind—to be the fruit. Ask someone to hold you accountable and not allow you to get by with unkind words or actions. I discovered that I simply was unaware that my words or actions sounded unkind. I never intended it but once it was brought to my attention, then I started to notice how quickly I can speak or respond, and how that can come across as unkind. So, now that I’m aware, I am much more intentional about making sure my words are kind, that they sound kind.
In Ephesians 4:32 Paul says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” I would guess that Paul wrote this to the believers in Ephesus because they needed to learn to “be the fruit”—to practice kindness toward each other.
GOODNESS is next. How do you practice goodness? Peter wrote, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5). Make every effort, he says. Isn’t he saying, “Be the fruit”?
How many times did you tell your children, “Be good!”? And somehow instinctively they knew what you meant, even at very young ages. Being good is directly connected to behavior, right? You do what is good. So, here’s an idea of how you can “add to your faith goodness.” Determine to be a better listener. Who needs a listening ear? I’m not talking about giving counsel or solving problems. Just listening. That is so good and it is so helpful to someone going through a difficult time. And of course, once you listen, you can always offer to pray for that person. That would be very good.
FAITHFULNESS is a requirement for all Christ-followers. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians. 4:2). Faithful to God, first and foremost—faithful to reading the Bible and prayer, faithful to church attendance and involvement. Faithful to your mate, to your friends. Keeping promises and being dependable.
Would people who know you describe you as faithful, dependable? You know, this is one fruit we can all be, regardless of how smart you are, or how educated or experienced you may be. Being faithful is a daily decision you make.
Don’t promise carelessly. Under promise and over deliver is a very good motto to live by. Then keep a record of all you’re responsible to do, every place you’re supposed to be, etc., etc. Don’t trust your memory. Faithfulness is required—not optional. So, if this is an area of challenge for you, pray much about it and determine each day to be the fruit—be faithful!
GENTLENESS is next in this list of the fruit of the Spirit. Proverbs 15:1 reads, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” And you’ll remember that our Lord Jesus described himself as “gentle and lowly of heart.” Frankly, the gentleness of Jesus is one thing about him I truly treasure because when he deals with me—and that happens pretty often—he always does so with such gentleness.
Do you think of yourself as a gentle person? I don’t mean wimpy or timid, but gentle; gentle in your words, gentle in your reactions, gentle in your facial expressions, gentle in the tone of your voice? It is a very lovely fruit and people will greatly appreciate it when you show gentleness to them. There’s not a lot of it in our harsh world today, so be the fruit—be gentle.
SELF-CONTROL is putting disciplines and restraints in your life to keep you from harm. Proverbs 25:28 says: “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” Self-control is not allowing yourself to indulge in things that are not good for you—such as certain food, what you watch on television, what kind of conversations you engage in, etc. I remember a friend of mine, many years ago, who was addicted to watching a trashy soap-opera every day, so she taped it while she was at work and the first thing she did each evening was watch that trashy soap opera.
God began to convict her of this, and she began to practice self-control. She stopped recording the program. She said it was really hard that first day to walk out of her apartment without turning on the recording, but she exercised self-control and kept it up. That was really the beginning of a new vibrant relationship with the Lord, and she has gone on to serve Christ in amazing ways. But it took self-control to turn her back on what she knew was not good for her—for her thinking and her mind—and once she did, it was a marvelous breakthrough for her. By God’s grace she broke that bad habit and through self-control, started growing into the outstanding woman she is today. She learned self-control.
Is there something in your life that has you in bondage—something not good for you? If there is, I’m certain you can identify it right away. It could be something you watch or read, or some place you go, or some eating habits. You can’t imagine how freeing it will be for you when you can be the fruit—exercise self-control by God’s grace and put that bad habit out of your life.
So, that’s my challenge for all of us: Be the fruit! Memorize this passage from Galatians 5, pray it into your life, put reminders around you and work on the areas that are the most challenging for you. But don’t just talk about it or give verbal consent to the importance of bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Do it! Be the fruit! Paul wrote that against such, there is no law! Nobody can stop you from being the fruit and there is no greater testimony for your faith in Jesus Christ.