Bearing much fruit...

DAILY BYTE

There is much debate about the Holy Spirit among Christians. Different denominations and religious groups have contrasting opinions about the Holy Spirit. Within our own local congregations there is debate about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. Without getting into the particulars of this debate, let us rather focus on what the Spirit of God produces in our lives. The Apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The question we must ask ourselves is: To what degree is the fruit of the spirit evident in our life?

When I was a child, I used to love a grapefruit tree that we had on our back yard. The grapefruit that it produced were big and bright yellow colored. I loved the contrast between the bright yellow grapefruit and the green leaves of the tree. My uncle Manuel, who lived next door to us, would love to come into our backyard and pick some grapefruit. At the time I was about six years of age and I remember being angry at him for picking the beautiful yellow grapefruit. I would tell him not to do so because if the grapefruit were picked, the tree would no longer look beautiful.

If we allow the Holy Spirit work in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will surely grow in our lives. These fruits of the Spirit are for those around us to pick and eat. When they do, those around us will be able to taste and see that the Lord our God is good. We must do our best to cultivate our lives in such a way that the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us is plentiful. But we must also make it available so that those around us can taste God’s love and goodness through the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Father, we thank you for your Holy Spirit and for the fruit that your Holy Spirit produces in our lives.We pray that you guide us to cultivate our lives in such a way that we will bear much fruit in order that those around us will see you in our lives. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our redeemer. Amen.

FOCUS TEXT

Galatians5:19-26

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 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 be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.