What a beautiful garden I have this year. I planted peppers, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, radishes, watermelon, cantaloupes, cucumbers, onions, okra, and green beans. It was exciting watching the seed plants push their way through the ground. And everyday watching the established plants grow and blossom. I began making preparations for cooking and canning my soon coming crop. I spent my morning hours weeding and watering, watching as more blooms developed.
The tomato plants were the first to bear fruit. Soon I was awash in cucumbers. The radishes came in next. It was a good crop. So good I planted a second crop. I had a few leaf lettuces come up, enough for one salad. So far I have two cantaloupes growing from more blooms than I could count. And one okra pod. But the rest was a disappointment.
The pepper plants along with the squash, watermelon, onions, and green beans are failures. The onion tops came up but the onions did not grow. The watermelon, squash, and green bean plants were covered with blossoms that never produced fruit. My tomato plants are taking their own good time in turning red. So as I was walking by my garden I began pondering how a Christian might be like my garden in the eyes of God.
Christians have a tendency to forget the effort that God put forth to insure our salvation. In fact, let’s think of our salvation as God’s garden. Think of the soil as the sacrifice that Jesus made for all people. It is in this rich sacrifice that the seed of the word of God is planted. The scripture is the means to which the fruits of being a Christian will become a harvest. And He fertilizes his garden with the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit the Christian begins to grow and become stronger with deep roots.
So God has prepared the soil, planted the seed, and released the power of the Holy Spirit. He watches in anticipation as the Christian begins to grow. Ever so slowly they stretch upwards from the soil, growing to a beautiful plant covered in blooms. The blooms are enticing in evidence of a great harvest in the Christians life. But in the midst of this entire greenery and blossoms one thing is missing. Fruit. There is plenty to look at but no produce to consume. As I did with my garden, day after day God looks for the fruit in the Christians life but is often disappointed.
Unlike my garden, where I planted 11 different plants, God plants one plant and looks for nine fruits to be harvested from that one. He expects all nine to be evident and growing. We find these fruits listed in Galatians 5:22-23. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Today we are going to discover these nine fruits and how they should be evident in a Christian’s life.
The first three fruits listed directs our attention toward God. Those three are love, joy, and peace.
The word love used here is agape. It is the love that God pours out upon his people. It was agape love that prompted God to send his son to die on the cross for our sins. And this same love resides in all Christians.
Romans 5:5 “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
What happens when you take a bottle of water and fill it with grape flavoring? The water takes on the taste of the grape flavoring. Our hearts, which represent our very being, have been filled with the agape love of God. We have taken on the very essence of who God is because the Bible says that God is love. And it is this special love that becomes the pathway to our relationship with him. We become his children and can call him our Father in the dearest of terms. Like a healthy plant, our roots grow deeper in that love and we become stronger. We discover a fullness of life and power. We can trust God. By this agape love we are assured that God lives in us. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this agape love.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
Live a life filled with love. What does that look like? First, you must develop a sincere love. Agape love cannot be superficial or insincere. It must be a deep love that is evident in the way we serve God and treat others. We make allowances for the faults and shortcomings of others. We forgive when offended. We allow agape love to unify as one and try our best to live in harmony with others. Everything we do is rooted in agape love. We cast off the bonds of the requirement to love and instead choose to serve one another in agape love. It is in this framework of agape love that we find the next fruit, joy.
Romans 14:17 “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Joy is one of the very foundations that the Kingdom of God is built on. It is a gift poured out on us through the Holy Spirit so that we can be filled with joy in the presence of God. It is this joy that gives us confidence and hope that sees us through the storms. It reflects the confidence we have of hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” on the day that Jesus returns. This joy gives us confidence in our relationship with God. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this joy.
Philippians 4:4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”
Live a life filled with joy. Do not confuse happiness and joy. Happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is based on relationship. We may not always be happy but we should be joyful. Even in our unhappiness there must a glimpse of joy coming through that shows others our confidence in God. Our joy should be as such that it is contagious. In the midst of crisis others should want to be near us for the calming affect our joy delivers. Walking in agape love with and experiencing joy, we can see how this leads to the next fruit, peace.
This peace is not a state of mind but rather a harmony between individuals. It is walking in agreement with God. And even though it is not a state of mind it begins in the mind. Romans 8:6 “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
It is allowing our thoughts to be on those things that are pleasing to God. Our harmony with God, like joy, is a foundation that the Kingdom of God is built on. And like joy, it is a gift from God. This peace enables us to enjoy our fellowship with God. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this peace.
Ephesians 2:17 “He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.” God offered his harmonious peace to each of us while we were far from him. He continues offering it to us even though we are now near him. He does this so we can reflect this harmonious peace to others. We are called to be the peace-makers. Therefore we are to do all we can to make peace with our fellowman and with ourselves. We are to allow his peace to guard our hearts and minds.
These three fruits should reflect our relationship with God; our agape love, our joyous delight in him, and our harmonious peace with him.
The next three next three fruits directs our attention toward others. Those three fruits are patience, kindness, and goodness.
The Greek word used here for patience meant “long-tempered” which is the opposite of short tempered. It was used to describe slowness in avenging a wrong. It describes God when the scripture states that He is long-suffering.
Romans 2:4 “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”
God has planned a day of judgment for this earth. It will be destroyed along with ungodly people. The only reason it has not been destroyed is because of God’s desire to see everyone repent and be saved. He is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry. He does not punish us for our sins nor deal as harshly with us as we deserve. He is like a father to his children. He knows how weak we are and remembers we are only dust. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this patience.
Ephesians 4:2-3 “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”
Just as God has made allowances for our faults, we are to do the same for others. We are not to quarrel but rather be patient with difficult people. We are to be prepared to share God’s truth when the opportunity arises but we are to do it gently. Remember that patience is an aspect of love.
This patience will lead to the next fruit, kindness.
Psalm 145:9 “The Lord is good to everyone.
He showers compassion on all his creation.”
The word ‘good’ can also be translated as kind. God shows kindness to everyone. It is a sympathetic kindliness or sweetness of temper that makes others feel at ease. He is kind not only to his children but to those who are unthankful and wicked also. He sends blessings on the just and unjust alike. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this kindness.
Colossians 3:12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
Unless we are naked, people will see the clothes we are wearing. Kindness should be a part of our Christian ‘garment’.
We should be tenderhearted toward others, forgiving all offenses. There should be no bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, or slander evident in our lives. Believers and non-believers should be at ease in our presence. They should sense we are trustworthy. We should be the one they can be open with and not fear being given the cold shoulder or hurt by sharp words.
Being ’long tempered’ as opposed to being short tempered and exhibiting a sweetness of temper, we discover the next fruit, goodness.
Acts 11:24 “Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.”
Goodness is patience, kindness, and benevolence in action. Barnabas exhibited all these traits. He was not envious of others but happy to see the blessings and progress they were making. His real name was Joseph but they called him Barnabas because it meant “Son of Encouragement.” He was constantly encouraging others in their efforts. He was generous with his possessions, even to the point of selling them to meet the needs of the church.
In the Book of Acts we also meet Tabitha, or in Greek Dorcas. She was known for doing kind things for others and helping the poor. There is a story of Peter finding a room filled with widows weeping over the coats and other clothes she had made for them, more than likely at her own expense. Both of these people were full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. It was them allowing God to his goodness through them that earned them such a reputation. We also are to have that reputation. But, just like a plant, there must be some evidence of fruit from this goodness.
Ephesians 5:8-9 “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”
We are to exhibit goodness because of the light that shines through into the darkened world. God created us to exhibit this goodness. Therefore we are to do good to everyone at every opportunity, especially to fellow believers. In order to accomplish this mandate we must read the scriptures. God gave us the scriptures to prepare and equip us to exhibit this goodness.
So as God peers upon his garden of Christians there are fruits He expects to see. He expects to see agape love that was poured out on us being returned to him and those around us. He expects to see joy in our lives and the calming effect on others that joy brings. He expects us to show that harmonious peace we have with him and to live at peace with others. He expects to see us being “long tempered” showing patience toward difficult people. He expects to see us clothed in kindness so others will be at ease in our presence. He expects us to exhibit goodness always being an encouragement to others.
There are three more fruits of the Spirit that we will discuss next Sunday. These fruits direct our attentions to ourselves. But until then grade yourselves on how well you are exhibiting these fruits. Are you a lot of fine greenery and beautiful blossoms but that’s all? If so, begin asking the Holy Spirit to lead you in such a way that the fruit will burst through.
