“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…” – Galatians 5:22 AMP
Imagine you planted some tomatoes in your kitchen garden but returned there after 60 days to discover peppers growing instead. You’d be surprised right? When you plant a seed you don’t expect any other kind of fruit different from the seed you planted, especially when grafting hasn’t been done.
Before salvation, the Bible describes us as slaves to sin (Romans 6:20), meaning that regardless of our conscious efforts, we oftentimes reacted, behaved or thought in ways that contradicted God’s guidelines (Ephesians 2:1-3). In this state, it would have been folly to expect us to act like Christ because we did not have His nature. We were of the flesh and therefore produced fruits consistent with the flesh (Galatians 5: 19-21).
This changed at salvation, we became new people and our nature was changed from sin to righteousness, we received the nature of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21, Ephesians 2:4-10). And although we might not have seen any obvious physical change, our hearts were changed, and we received the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:13).
The Holy Spirit then does the work of changing us, making us become like Christ (Galatians 5:16). The resultant effect of this work of the Holy Spirit in us is the fruit of the Spirit, while they are not literal fruits like apples and bananas, they are the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in us.
In Mathematics class, our teachers always insisted we “show working” when solving problems. They knew that the process and evidence of the work done revealed more about our understanding than the final answer ever could.
By the working of the Spirit in us, we ought to consistently walk in love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control, amongst others. This implies that every true believer ought to yield these fruits. We ought to show these workings. Like a gardener who expects to harvest tomatoes after planting tomatoes, God expects us to produce fruits consistent with His nature. If someone has truly received the Holy Spirit, the effects will be evident.
We must relentlessly renew our minds and reject the world’s standards (Romans 12:2). Embrace the transformative power of the Spirit, follow His guidance, and let Him shape every aspect of your life until you fully embody Christ. Start now—yield to His work and become the change.
Bible Reading Plan: Matthew 27: 29 – 66