Growing Fruit
- The list of fruit of the Spirit can be daunting if looked at from a purely human perspective. Can anyone live up to it? If left to our own strength, we can never be fully loving, joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, gentle, good, faithful, meek, and self-controlled.
- It is an impossible list of character traits for fallen people to live up to. We must look to Jesus, the only perfect human to ever walk the earth, as our example and our hope:
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- ○ Loving. Jesus was perfectly loving as he brought his good news and the truth of the gospel to the world.
○ Joyful. He was perfectly joyful as he fulfilled the will of his Father.
○ Peaceful. He was perfectly peaceful as he walked the earth. He brought peace to the world by reconciling it to God.
○ Longsuffering. Jesus was perfectly longsuffering as he put on human flesh and lived in a fallen world enduring the ultimate suffering on the cross.
○ Gentle. He was perfectly gentle as he dealt with sinners like us. To the poor in heart who came to him with their needs, he was utterly gentle, loving, and kind.
○ Good. Jesus was perfectly good in every way. The goodness within him flowed out of him as he healed the sick, raised the dead, and welcomed the sinner into his kingdom.
○ Faithful. Jesus was perfectly faithful to his Father, never wavering from his faith and his mission.
○ Meek. Jesus was perfectly meek as he followed the will of God. His meekness enabled him to withhold his power as he carried out his duty as the gentle and lowly savior.
○ Self-controlled. He was perfectly self-controlled facing evil. He could have called angels to save himself, but he put his flesh aside to fulfill the will of his Father.
- We could never live up to Jesus in all of these ways, but when we abide in Jesus, these traits will grow within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. God does not leave us without help as we strive to be more like Jesus. His promised Holy Spirit dwells within us and enables us to grow in the likeness of God.
- Jesus is our example as well as our source of strength as we strive to be more like him. Like Peter, we are sinful people who will fail at every turn. We will be brash, arrogant and impetuous. We will be unloving, unkind, and unmerciful. We will deny him, fight against his will, and rely upon our own strength.
- God will, out of his mercy and love, strengthen us, help us, and uphold us by the power of his Spirit at work within us. The fruit of the Spirit will grow within us and pour out of us when we trust God, abide in Jesus, and allow the Spirit to work within us.