Discovery How My Soul Grows Good Fruit
Today I planted tomatoes—four sweet little Heirloom tomato plants my sister-in-law lovingly grew from seed and generously shared. Only a few inches tall right now, I know they will grow into sturdy plants within a few months. Each variety will soon bear fruit that looks and tastes a bit different, but all will be tomatoes.
Agricultural metaphors fill the pages of Scripture. One of my favorites is in Galatians 5:22-23, in which the Apostle Paul describes the fruit of God’s Spirit.
I have heard different explanations of this passage, but the teaching of many biblical scholars which resonates most with me is that the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, which is manifested by joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
I especially appreciate how Nicky Gumbel, Anglican vicar, author, and developer of Alpha, a worldwide course that unpacks the basics of the Christian faith, explains:
Joy is love rejoicing,
Peace is love at rest,
Patience is love waiting,
Kindness is love interacting,
Goodness is love initiating,
Faithfulness is love keeping its word,
Gentleness is love empathizing,
Self-control is love resisting temptation.
Every few months, I try to choose a time when I am not rushed to do my own personal Fruit of the Spirit assessment. Here’ the process I like to use:
Ask the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom and insight.
Choose a specific time as a benchmark—for instance, the past six months.
Without condemnation or comparison to another person, I ask how my soul is doing right now in terms of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and how it differs from say, six months ago.
When I identify an area where I know I’m lacking or improving, I try to assess what has been going on in life to create the change.
At this point, I usually pray to God, the “Master Gardner.” This is based on Jesus’ words in John 15:1 & 2,
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes
the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”
I thank God for growth, and I ask God to help me improve in areas where good fruit doesn’t seem to be growing, asking the “Master Gardner” to prune the branches of my “soul” to produce better fruit.
It’s that simple. I walk away from this assessment with a sense of freedom, knowing God, the “Master Gardner” wants to help me because God not only acts loving, but GOD IS LOVE (1John 4:8). God embodies every manifestation of LOVE: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Blessings on your journey of “soul” growth,
Note: The words today are printed on one of Ron’s recent photos of the aurora borealis, a spectacular event. Here’s another.
