The Fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self–control. It’s a scary proposition that someone
could actually look at us and not recognize the fruit of the Spirit in us, or see
the fruit produced from belief in Christ. Jesus said, “Watch out for false
prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious
wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will
recognize them” (Matt 7:15-20 NIV).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----A wayward culture’s problem of seeing nothing more than skin deep is why it always attributes wolf-fruit to sheep skin. They can see the “share” aspect in socialism’s sheepskin, but they do not understand the slavery aspect is its fruit. They see the “love” aspect of spiritual relativism, but they do not recognize the thievery in its climbing over the wall. They see the “sweet heart of Jesus” in the personal-relativity sheepskin, but they do not see the fury of its enabled wickedness.
-----Love is an up-building of everything except instruments of destruction; love is a breaking down of those. In this is a difficulty of distinguishing between sheepskin and wolf fruit. So also joy springs not at all from the destruction of evil, but from the plowed ground thereof which will next sprout righteousness. And there is no peace in surrender to anything other than the Christ. In surrender to Him, peace comes from victory over the root of sin’s wicked fruit. Yet 90/90 vision will see anything forming a battle front against the causes of evil as being wolf fruit. So also patience is misunderstood when the giving of rope to the stupid of evil is righteousness‘ battle strategy. Kindness is for the love in all we do towards everyone, yet it must not spare the rod through which love must sometimes instruct. Goodness is the effect all our efforts seek, but not for the black widow nest in the nursery room. Faithfulness is nothing if it bubbles up from anything. “Faithful” is as much an accuracy of reflection as it is a propensity to reflect. Gentleness is the limitation of force to what is needed for beneficial effect. Though too much force is destructive, too little is ineffective. Gentleness is the proper amount. And who‘s to say what that amount is? The half-finished jigsaw puzzle always shows which piece is next needed. The puzzle assembler thinking he’s to say what that piece might be will always jam the puzzle into chaos. Self-control looks at every situation through the eyes of what righteousness says is next needed, not through the eyes of what the self thinks. Self-control is the open door to discovering reality, for like gentleness, it applies one’s own effort to a situation as righteousness shows the proper type and amount of effort needed. Since there’s nothing more real than Jesus, or more instructive then His Holy Bible, self-control brings them both to every situation for righteousness to show self what piece a puzzle next needs.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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