Fruits of the Spirit: Blessings for our Lives

My last couple of posts were about living in the spirit as well as the gifts that the Holy Spirit provides.  Today we’ll investigate the natural, beneficial consequences of doing so, often referred to as the Fruits of the Spirit.  If one accepts the premise of a loving, active God, then it must follow that positive spiritual blessings will flow out to those choosing to connect themselves with Him.

When we keep our focus on the teachings and presence of Jesus instead of our own interests, it becomes easier to decipher the plan that the Father has for us.  If we then attempt to follow this plan by using the special gifts that the Holy Spirit has granted us, then we will have a great, positive impact on others around us.  In this way, we are allowing ourselves to be instruments of God’s growing of his kingdom on earth.  This benefits others, the world, and us.

What are the Fruits of the Spirit?

The longer that we live in this manner, the more our spirit is configured to that of God’s.  We will notice changes in ourselves, positive virtues and heightened spirituality.  The church has identified the following gifts, as initially presented by Paul in his letter to the Galatians (see Galatians 5:18-25).

• Love – Love is first and foremost.  God is Love…  therefore, we will come to know love, in God and others.  Without love, nothing else matters.  There are many types of love, and it is a word that is overused and misused.  But, in its simplest form, love involves putting the needs of others above our own.

• Joy – Many people interchange joy and happiness, but joy is much deeper.  In fact, you can still be joyful at times when you are sad.  Being joyful is steadier and longer lasting than happiness, which can be fleeting.  Joy is the assurance that comes with knowing God and knowing who we are in relation to him.

• Peace – These days, peace seems hard to come by.  Anxiety, strife, anger and a whole set of other disrupting emotions can rob us of peace.  We attain peace as a fruit of the spirit in knowing that we are living God’s plan for us.  We feel peace in the hope that no matter what comes our way, God will take care of us.  An abundance of hope and faith yields peace.

• Forbearance – No life is without its challenges.  Forbearance provides the endurance and steadiness to see things through and stick to Godly choices and living.

• Kindness – Being kind flows naturally when living a Godly life and allowing the spirit to guide our thoughts and actions.  On the other hand, there is no room for malice, cruelty or indifference when one is filled with the Spirit.

• Goodness – This is like kindness, in that goodness flows from the Spirit, and in turn through us when we allow Him to work in our lives.  Evil can find no foothold to enter and take root in this case.

• Faithfulness – As children of God, we find that being faithful to him becomes easier, a virtue that is developed over time.  Faithfulness to God extends outward as well; we become naturally faithful to our spouses, our family and our responsibilities.

• Gentleness – We may or may not think of ourselves as gentle, but in this sense, we become gentle due to the peace and forbearance that we feel.  Our actions become more confident and purposeful, and less reckless.

• Self-Control – It is through the Holy Spirit that we can fight addictions and slavery to sin.  Through him such self-control becomes a habit and allows us to live righteous lives for God and others.

Again, these fruits of the spirit are the natural consequence for living in the spirit.  Conversely, these qualities are often sorely lacking for those who choose to live a life against God’s guidance.  In 2020, we have seen many negative behaviors on display in our streets, communities and online message boards.  Everyone is looking for solutions, but the solution is simple:  Return to God and live according to his ways.  It is only by doing so that we can enjoy these fruits of the spirit.

Many thanks to Feedspot, that recently included LostFlock in its list of top 200 Christian Blogs!  This list is a great resource for diverse Christian viewpoints, several of which are sampled in the RSS feed on the LostFlock front page.