But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV
Since
we have been discussing the believers spiritual makeup for a few weeks, I was
not at all surprised to see another article this past week concerning women
wearing makeup with another well known individual revealing herself with and
without her makeup applied. The purpose
of the article was supposedly to “empower” women to feel it was perfectly
acceptable to appear in public without their makeup on. The choice to wear or not to wear is theirs
to make and no one should feel guilty about choosing the latter. As I thought about this though, I realized
that as believers, we too are given the same choice in regards to wearing our
spiritual makeup.
As
we have been talking about this, like many of you my thoughts
turned to the passage from Galatians with which I am sure most of us are
familiar. I even have a framed print of it hanging on a wall in my home to
remind me of what is expected from me as a believer. “Expected”? Yes, if we
accept the fact that being filled with the Holy Spirit is a choice, then it
follows that producing the fruits of the Spirit is also a choice. In other
words, the ability to produce the fruit of the Spirit is in us, but we must
also choose to exhibit them. Do you recall the passage from Titus that began
this discussion?
[Exhort]
bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all
[things], not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity,
that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Titus 2:9-10 NKJV
Paul
tells Titus that one of his responsibilities is to exhort servants to “adorn”
themselves, or in other words, to make the choice to adorn. As I considered the subject of the fruits of
the Spirit this week, I also noticed that my garden has arrived at the point
where many of the plants are tall and healthy, but have not yet begun to produce
fruit. I wondered how often we as
believers sometimes look like these plants. We appear quite healthy and mature,
but upon closer examination there is no fruit to be found. What I think God
expects from us as believers is to approach every single day with the thought
of “how do I show others the fruit of the Spirit”? So often we believe that if we arrive at a
certain level of maturity in our walk with Christ the fruit will appear
“naturally” in everything we do. However if we take a good look around,
especially within the body, I think we can see that may not be the case.
I
am sure most of you realize and would confess that we as believers sometimes
stumble and exhibit fruits not of the Spirit.
At one time or another we all have acted or spoken in a manner which
does not show any of the fruit listed in this passage. I am not suggesting that
those who do not exhibit the fruits of the Spirit are not true believers, but
rather that just as being filled with the Spirit is a choice, producing the
fruit of the Spirit is a choice as well. It is one thing to go to church,
study, fellowship, and grow as a believer, but it is another thing entirely to choose
to put on our spiritual makeup and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
NKJV
Have
you ever really stopped to consider that people are attracted to what they
see? I have always enjoyed the produce
section of a market and appreciate the time and trouble they go to in order to
present the fruits and vegetables in an attractive display. It is almost as if they want to tempt you to
touch and feel and ultimately purchase what they are exhibiting. We have all seen the effect wearing makeup has
on an individuals’ appearance, which in many cases can be described as
amazing. As believers, how often do we
think about how our spiritual makeup can affect, and even attract, the
attention of non-believers? Choosing to
put on the fruits of the Spirit, however, is only the first step because like
all fruit, our spiritual fruit must be cultivated.
A
memory I will always have is waking up at night when the wind machines would
turn on in the orchards to protect the fruit from freezing. If you are not
familiar with that, many orchards have large propellers mounted on poles high
above the trees. When the temperature would approach freezing, these would turn
on to circulate the air and prevent frost from forming on the trees. Imagine
living next to an airport when 20 or so airplanes start their engines at the
same time and you will begin to understand what I experienced. The
"outward" fruits are a result of believers growing in the warmth of
God's love. The closer you are to God, the greater the warmth and the more you
grow.
Oh,
taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalms 34:8
NKJV
My
uncle was an orchardist, and I remember accompanying him often while he drove
around to different orchards resetting sprinklers and taking care of business.
(with five kids, this was probably my mother's answer to daycare) Although it
didn't occur to me then, not only did his work require a lot of physical
effort, it was necessary for the trees to get the proper amount of water to
produce their fruit. The trees had to be
pruned properly, be protected from insects which could harm the fruit, and
often weeds would have to be controlled so as to not rob the trees of the water
they needed to grow. A result of
cultivating a healthy relationship with God is growth, which occurs when we make
the effort to take in the knowledge to be found in His Word which He has
provided for us. As a result, our "fruit" will grow in proportion to
what we take in.
My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have [its] perfect
work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4 NKJV
let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22
NKJV
There
is nothing so beautiful as a tree full of fruit ready for harvest. As a child,
I always looked forward to seeing the hills turn orange when all the oranges on
the trees would begin to turn color. It is the same now living where I do. In
the fall when the apples begin to turn color as they ripen, the entire orchard
changes color. If you have never seen an apple or orange tree full of fruit
ready for picking, you have really missed something. I have always been amazed
by just how much fruit one tree can produce, and how obvious it is when the
fruit is ripe. The three fruits of the Spirit, longsuffering, kindness, and
goodness are ones I would describe as "demonstrative". They describe
just how we as believers exhibit our relationship with God by how we interact
with others. People should be able to see us practicing these gifts, and
be attracted by them.
I
know many people who would not think of ever leaving their house without
wearing their makeup. Putting on our
spiritual makeup is a choice we make daily, and I believe it is one of the most
important choices we are faced with.
People are attracted by what they see, and as believers we are
encouraged to adorn ourselves in such a way as to attract others to the source
of our fruit, Jesus Christ.
Keep
watching.
