God's Holy Spirit Fruits of the Spirit - Are You Bearing Them?
Fruits of the Spirit - Are You Bearing Them?
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The Bible is filled with symbolic references of fruit. God is the gardener, Jesus Christ the vine, and we the people, are the branches.
Branches as you know, are what the fruit grows on, and if the branches don't bear fruit, well, they are cut and thrown away. (John 15:1-6).
Bearing Good Fruit
So, how do we go about bearing fruit, and good fruit at that?
First, we must be connected to the vine of course, Jesus Christ.
"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much furit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5-6)
Secondly, we must act.
"The seed is God's message. The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the message, but then the Devil comes and steals it away and prevents them from believing and being saved. The rocky soil represent those who hear the message with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow. The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and so they never grow into maturity. But the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to it and steadily produce a huge harvest." Luke 6:11-15
This was the explanation given about the parable of the farmer scattering seeds in verses 4-10.
As mentioned before, it takes faith to consistently produce good fruit. When we do produce, God prunes us to bear even more fruit. This pruning takes the form of challenges and testing that occur in our daily lives. These challenges are not meant to discourage us, but to help us grow.
God's Holy Spirit
To receive God's Spirit all we need to do is repent.
"...Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:3-8
Repentence means to change your life around. To give up all the negative aspects of your life and turn to positive, life changing activities.
When we bear the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control - we become a blessing to others because it is only when we give of ourselves to others, then the fruit will grow and ripen.
Bearing good fruit means much more than receiving everlasting life, it is ensuring that we live a happy and prosperous life now.
"...those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers...are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1,3).
