Fruit of the Spirit

Growing older…but not up

One of the struggles the Modern day Church is dealing with is the issue of Spiritual Maturity. Over the past three decades many people claim to have had a life changing experience and supposedly given their hearts and to Jesus Christ. Don’t get me wrong; I love it when salvation takes place and I make it a point to be a soul winner daily. I believe that as a Christ follower, I have a responsibility to show and tell what has taken place in my own life. As a minister of the gospel, I want to believe the best in people but I must tell you this morning I believe there are many people who know about Jesus, but they don’t know or have a relationship with Him!

How do we evaluate spiritual maturity? In the corporate world employees are evaluated on job performance and in most cases are rewarded or penalized depending on how well they do their job. In academia, individuals receive a grade that indicates the level of knowledge one has after taking a course or class. Athletes and entertainers are evaluated by how well they perform. It seems that every arena in life has a way to evaluate effectiveness except the Church. How do you evaluate ones spiritual growth? This is a question that I have been thinking about and believe we can go to the word of God and set up some benchmarks that will help us maturing believers see how well we are doing!

Galatians 5:22 lays out the “Fruit of the spirit”. I personally believe these “fruits” would be great evaluators and a standard that we should consider. I love the idea of “fruit” and as I started thinking could not help but wonder how people consider fruit. When we think of fruit for the most part we think of it as in an individual piece. I am thankful that real fruit is abundant and available at markets all over the country. Living in Florida and near a railroad I often have to wait for extended periods of time as the Orange Trains roll north with millions of oranges and crates of Orange Juice so that people all over our country can enjoy Florida Oranges. I was driving near Spuds Florida the other day and got behind a truck that had thousands of potatoes freshly dug out of the ground! I am thankful for bountiful harvest.

When we think of the fruit of the spirit, we must realize that there is so much to go around. The actual word “Fruit” or Karpos from the Greek language literally means harvest. It is the bounty received from nurturing the plant or tree. It is perpetual! I am so thankful that a tree or plant produces year after year. So spiritually speaking, the fruits of the spirit are also perpetual! They are the bounty from the harvest and should be possessed by all who call them selves Christ followers. As a believer I am to have affection and good will (love) toward my fellow man. As a believer I will experience joy and a state of tranquility (peace) knowing that I serve a Sovereign Lord. I will have steadfastness and perseverance (patience) and express moral goodness (kindness) and integrity. Believers also will possess an uprightness of heart (goodness) and a genuine conviction and belief in my relationship with God (faith). I will also have a mildness (gentleness) of disposition and learn to control (self control) a sensual appetite.

Against these fruits, the Bible says there is no law. The fruits of the spirit are an outward expression of Jesus living within. This fruit grows and is expressed in any person that willingly dies to what Christ died to so that the Spirit can bring new life. I also want to tell you that the fruits of the spirit are not exhaustive. But all of the fruits are an expression of love.

How do we measure spiritual maturity, I believe it starts with a live and growing relationship with Christ Jesus! How are you doing? Let go of the things of the world and grab hold of the things of God! I love you all! <><