Fruit of The Spirit: Cultivating Spiritual Fruit

I previously sent this out in a newsletter, but I decided I wanted everyone to have access to devotions + God's word. Here is the intro to the series I am starting on Galatians 5:22-23 and spiritual fruit.

As believers, our main witness is our actions + characteristics. What we produce in our lives either points people towards Christ, or points people away from Christ. Matthew 7:16-20 says, "You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."

It is vital that we know and cultivate healthy spiritual fruit in our lives, so that we can be sure we point others to Christ and not away from Him. We don't want to be a tree that is cut down and thrown into the fire. So what is the spiritual fruit that we are to cultivate? Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

These are the spiritual fruits we are to grow and strive for. I encourage you to take the time to evaluate the fruit in your life, is it pointing others towards Christ? Are you loving others? Do you spread joy? Are you a peacemaker? Next month we will dive into the fruit of love and how we can seek to produce it more abundantly in our life. Right now, you can download the image below to help you memorize the verse this month!