Searching For SignificanceBeispiel

The Fruit — Part Two

Producing Good Fruit

So how do we work on not focusing on the “doing” but more on being in God’s presence? How do we work on being in tune with him and his plan for our life, when our tendency is to get caught up in being busy “for” God?

It starts with being in tune with the Holy Spirit. If you grew up in Sunday school, you likely learned the “fruit of the Spirit” song and memorized Galatians 5:22-23 at a young age. That verse provides us with a practical list of the very characteristics that God wishes to instill in us for his glory.

But it’s easy to legalize this verse and think that we have to “do” things in order to “earn” these characteristics, almost as if we were earning a badge in Cub Scouts. But that’s not how it works! When we’re walking with God, being in relationship with him and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, he will produce this fruit in our lives. It’s a result of his hand at work in our lives.

As we seek his face and strive to live the lives he designed for us, the Holy Spirit will help us produce the kind of fruit we need to live significant lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That’s all the “doing” we need to strive for: to allow him to work within us to produce the fruit that he designed us to produce, as a reflection of his own character. Once again, we see God’s innate design for us to bring him glory — through what he does in us.

Points to Ponder:

• What fruits of the spirit do you find easier to practice than others? Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to produce these fruits in your life, for his glory. 
• How can you guard against “doing” things for God rather than allowing him to produce fruit in you? What pitfalls do you need to be aware of?