A Bit Fruity (Originally posted March 4,2008)

John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1"I (Jesus)am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:5
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.


Now I've been called nuttier than a fruit cake, one apple short of a fruit basket, and even a bad apple on occasion but none of these fruity statements qualify as the type of fruit Jesus was talking about. In Galatians 5 the fruit that Jesus wants his followers to display are spelled out for us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Jesus tells us that there are certain characteristics that we should display if we are rooted in his truth and his life. These are the earmarks of the Christian life. If you are living to resemble Christ Jesus, each of these fruits should be evident in your daily walk.

Personally, there are some fruits that I smile and give myself a little pat on the back when I read about them listed. Others I hang my head a bit and know that this is an area I need to work on. Isn't it nice though to know that God has laid out for us a self check list. If you are wondering how close a walk you are having to God all you need do is take a sincere appraisal of your life and see which fruits of the spirit you can honestly say are sprouting on your tree and which fruits need a little extra fertilizer. The closer you are to God the more you will resemble him and the more fruit you will bare.