Illustration:
Imagine if you will that you’re driving down a country gravel road on a lazy, sunny autumn afternoon. As you drive down this road you notice there are two fruit orchards one on each side of the road. You become curious as to the type of fruit on the trees and if you can pick it or have to buy a prearranged set amount like a peck or bushel. Without really thinking about it you decided to turn down the drive way of one of the two orchards, dust is flying from your car as it rambles down the driveway and from your seat the trees look filled with ripe apples – your mouth starts to water. After coming to a stop and talking to an employee of the orchard you move towards a peck of the ripest/largest Jonathan apples you’ve ever seen and …show more content…
Am I fruitful daily?
There are many reasons why Paul chooses to use fruit to illustrate his point about godly living. Sure, the intended audience of this epistle were living in a farming-oriented (agricultural) society, but there is more to this illustration. Paul is taking the audience back to the teachings of Jesus, by not only using similar imagery but also in making a similar point – that people of all ages and at all points in history will be known by their deeds, not by their thoughts, since no one without divine assistance (the Holy Spirit) can read the mind of another person.
Our deeds reflect matters of the heart – if we desire to boast amongst our friends and neighbors about the bells and whistles of our newest purchase, it is likely that our heart is oriented towards the things of the flesh and not the fruit of the spirit.
Let’s not forget that the fruit of the Spirit was described in direct contrast with worldly fruit. Paul makes it very clear that if you embrace choices of debauchery, fornication, deceitfulness and the like, that you do not have the spirit of God living inside of you.
Am I fruitful …show more content…
Why do I keep saying “daily” when talking about bearing fruit? The fruit of the spirit is one of the ways in which we stand out from the rest of humanity as followers of Jesus and bearers of the gospel, therefore it is important that we bear that fruit and stand out. Like our faith in God, spiritual fruit needs to be something others can see on a daily basis. Sure there are days when it might take a lot of effort for someone to see that we are gentle or joyful, but even so, there will be evidence of these traits in our interactions with others.
That evidence might convey that I am different because the spirit of God is at work in me and through me right now, therefore my joy is getting refined. Such evidence will draw attention to you and the way you live. If the evidence isn’t there because the spirit of God is not at work in or through you for the past ten years, then don’t be surprised if people struggle to see how your life reflects the teachings and ministry of
Imagine if you will that you’re driving down a country gravel road on a lazy, sunny autumn afternoon. As you drive down this road you notice there are two fruit orchards one on each side of the road. You become curious as to the type of fruit on the trees and if you can pick it or have to buy a prearranged set amount like a peck or bushel. Without really thinking about it you decided to turn down the drive way of one of the two orchards, dust is flying from your car as it rambles down the driveway and from your seat the trees look filled with ripe apples – your mouth starts to water. After coming to a stop and talking to an employee of the orchard you move towards a peck of the ripest/largest Jonathan apples you’ve ever seen and …show more content…
Am I fruitful daily?
There are many reasons why Paul chooses to use fruit to illustrate his point about godly living. Sure, the intended audience of this epistle were living in a farming-oriented (agricultural) society, but there is more to this illustration. Paul is taking the audience back to the teachings of Jesus, by not only using similar imagery but also in making a similar point – that people of all ages and at all points in history will be known by their deeds, not by their thoughts, since no one without divine assistance (the Holy Spirit) can read the mind of another person.
Our deeds reflect matters of the heart – if we desire to boast amongst our friends and neighbors about the bells and whistles of our newest purchase, it is likely that our heart is oriented towards the things of the flesh and not the fruit of the spirit.
Let’s not forget that the fruit of the Spirit was described in direct contrast with worldly fruit. Paul makes it very clear that if you embrace choices of debauchery, fornication, deceitfulness and the like, that you do not have the spirit of God living inside of you.
Am I fruitful …show more content…
Why do I keep saying “daily” when talking about bearing fruit? The fruit of the spirit is one of the ways in which we stand out from the rest of humanity as followers of Jesus and bearers of the gospel, therefore it is important that we bear that fruit and stand out. Like our faith in God, spiritual fruit needs to be something others can see on a daily basis. Sure there are days when it might take a lot of effort for someone to see that we are gentle or joyful, but even so, there will be evidence of these traits in our interactions with others.
That evidence might convey that I am different because the spirit of God is at work in me and through me right now, therefore my joy is getting refined. Such evidence will draw attention to you and the way you live. If the evidence isn’t there because the spirit of God is not at work in or through you for the past ten years, then don’t be surprised if people struggle to see how your life reflects the teachings and ministry of