I love to sing with the kids on Sunday night. If you have been there, you probably know we have been learning the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. I was talking to Nathan and Jack Wallace the other day, and Nathan was telling me that they were trying to put the fruit of the Spirit into practice. I laughed and said learning it is a lot easier than practicing it. What good is it if I know right but do not practice right? I can know two plus two is four, but if I put the answer as five on the test, I will miss it. I can know that my car needs gas to run, but if I do not put any in it, I will probably get stranded somewhere. James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
I am not saying it is wrong to grow in our knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:18). In fact, we should, but that knowledge should be helping to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. So you know the fruit of the Spirit is not a cantaloupe (Nope, lol) but is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. How does that play out in your life on Monday morning, Tuesday lunch, or Friday night?
Do people see the fruit of the Spirit growing in my life when I encounter someone who is hard to love and not very kind? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my relationship with God and my fellow man, or do they just see drama? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my life when the line is long, the person is slow, or I am not getting my way? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my life when I am given tough choices between what Jesus says and wants versus what my flesh and the world desire? If we sing the song enough, we will learn the fruit of the Spirit, but will we apply it in our everyday lives?