by Chris Watkins - Student Minister
Galatians 5:13-26
In Galatians 5, we receive a good word on how we are to live by the spirit and not by the desires of the flesh. We have been studying the fruits of the Spirit during our Midweek lessons in the student ministry the last few weeks. My desire is for our students to understand the need to be in unison with the Lord. The fruits we read in this passage we often believe we need to work harder at displaying in our life by the actions we take to pursue love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. However, what we truly see in Scripture is that these fruits are not created in us by our actions/doings, but, in fact, created and produced by the Spirit in our life as we grow in the Lord.
We read in John 15 that God is the Gardener, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. If we take a moment to understand gardening, the seed that is planted dictates the fruit that is produced. A vineyard that plants grape seeds will expect to see vines and branches produce grapes, not watermelons. The same in our life with Jesus. The Gardener, aka God, sent His Son, Jesus, aka the Vine, to rescue and grow followers that will be a reflection of Himself. The seed that is planted is expected to grow and be like Jesus, and through the work of the Spirit in our lives we produce the Fruit that is listed in Galatians 5:22-23.
In knowing that the fruit is that of the Spirit, it is important to note that each of the fruits are choices in our life as well. At the foundation is love which is a choice every day. We choose to love based on how God chooses to love us despite ourselves. The other fruit is also based on a choice that stems from the question, “Am I going to pursue the things of God or the things of the world today?” Prayerfully we choose to pursue the Lord daily and as a collective body of followers of Jesus we choose to live a life honoring the Lord displaying the Fruit of the Spirit.
Chris
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