Fruit

Matthew 7:20--"So then, you will know them by their fruit."

So many VBS songs confuse young minds about what it means to be "fruitful". I have to say that it took me a long time to understand it exactly. The Bible refers to fruit and farming so often. This week, I had a strange revelation. I have been reading about self-control and concentrating on Galatians 5:19-25:

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

These lists are not exhaustive. I'm sure there are many other sins that cause the Holy Spirit to hide deep within us. I'm also sure that there are other ways that we can show others Christ within us. However, these two paragraphs go hand in hand. You cannot have both. They cancel each other out. I went through and noted on a scale of 1-10 how sinful I am and how fruitful I am. If you know me at all or have ever read my blog, you would know that self-control is my weakness...or maybe it is kindness. Either way, I am not showing people Christ when I cannot control my thrashing tongue.

If I would have rated myself five years ago, things would have been different. Being a follower of Christ causes me to constantly change. It is a never-ending self-improvement process. I am striving to minimize the sin and increase the fruit. "They" say we should have 5 fruits a day...I'm working on my 8 fruits everyday!