“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
The Truth
Notice the word Paul chooses: fruit, singular, not fruits. This is not a checklist of nine separate virtues you acquire one at a time by working on each individually. It is a single, organic harvest, a unified character that grows naturally out of a life connected to the Spirit, the way apples grow out of a healthy tree without the tree straining to produce them.
This is a relief for anyone who has tried, exhausted, to manufacture patience or gentleness through raw willpower alone. Fruit is not manufactured. It is grown, slowly, through staying connected to the source, the way Jesus described abiding in the vine. Effort still matters, the way pruning and watering matter, but the actual growth is the Spirit’s work, not yours alone.
Look at the list honestly. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This is not a personality some people are born with and others are not. This is what the Spirit produces in anyone who stays connected to him over time, regardless of natural temperament.
Where you see this fruit lacking in your life, the answer is rarely simply try harder. It is usually stay closer, abide more, let the Spirit do in you what you cannot force yourself to become.
Live This Truth
- Name the fruit of the Spirit currently weakest in your life right now.
- Consider whether the answer is more effort or closer connection to him.
- Do one thing today that keeps you abiding close to him, not just trying harder.
Prayer
Spirit of God, I have tried to manufacture what only you can grow in me. Teach me to abide closer to you rather than simply try harder, and let the fruit come as it grows. Amen.
Carry this today
Fruit is not manufactured. It is grown by staying close.