Cultivating Spiritual FruitSample

The Vine

One of the responsibilities of Christians is to cultivate the precious fruit of the Holy Spirit. It takes a humble and willing heart to be trained in godly living. As you read in these devotionals, these individual aspects of the fruit of the Holy Spirit are part of the growth process every Christian walks through. When we are intentional about our choices, with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, we will experience maturity and produce much fruit.

What’s the best way to go about this?

Let’s look at John 15. This whole chapter portrays a grapevine and the Vinedresser. God, our Father, is the Vinedresser. We are the branches connected to Christ, the vine. Abiding in Christ means fellowshipping with Him throughout our day’s activities. Like a toddler who wants to stay near her mother, we should mentally run to God all throughout our day’s activities. Staying connected to Jesus is the secret. Fellowship with Him naturally produces Christlike fruit. Plus, an added bonus of mature spiritual fruit is that it prevents our flesh from dictating our conduct.

The purpose of fruit is to produce the works and will of God that nourish both us and everyone with whom we interact. By submitting our life to God continuously, we’ll stay in consistent fellowship with Him. We’ll face our daily difficulties and use our actions, words, and attitudes with fruitful effects that will bloom and produce more fruit.

Yielding to the Spirit also means walking (John 15:16), living by the Spirit (v. 24), and keeping in step with the Spirit (v. 25). Abiding in Christ keeps our choices and actions loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, meek, and self-controlled. Fruit-bearing believers live connected with the Spirit and depend daily on God who enables us to bear good fruit for His glory (v.8), instead of being led by our faulty feelings. When we do this, the Holy Spirit develops His fruit in our lives.

I couldn't help but notice while studying the fruits of the Spirit that each characteristic is interrelated with the others. For example, love is kind. Joy generates love. Peace provides joy. Patience yields peace. Kindness needs self-control. Goodness thrives on meekness. Faithfulness requires faith. Meekness is good. Self-control takes patience. Experiences in your fruit-bearing season will produce long lasting fruit for you and for those around you resulting in a fruitful life.