Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
There’s nothing like biting into a fresh piece of fruit picked from the tree. It’s full of all the goodness and sweetness that you’ve been waiting for. It’s the result of effort to prune, fertilize and ensure the best you can nothing threatens the ripening of the fruit.
Bad fruit is disgusting. It’s rotten, mushy, bug-infested and no one wants to eat it.
We can easily tell this when it comes to fruit that we eat.
What about the activities that we do?
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians made it very obvious for us what good and bad fruit look like:
Bad fruit…the things we do to glorify self and gratify our sinful nature:
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Good fruit…the things we do to glorify God and give evidence of the Spirit of God at work in us:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Planted in Jesus…pruned by the Father leads to the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus wants us to produce fruit…a lot of it!
John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Like a juicy piece of fresh fruit, you can just sense the difference of the sinful nature at work and the fruit of the Spirit at work. The fruit of the Spirit is delightful. It impacts people in a positive way. It gives glory to God in every way.
Notice…the fruit of the Spirit is not specifics. It doesn’t identify what we DO, it identifies the heart behind ALL we do.
The fruit of the Spirit is the transforming of our minds and hearts to be like God’s heart. The fruit of the Spirit is a reflection of the love that we have experienced in Christ. It is fruit that can only come from a close connection to Jesus Christ. It is fruit that benefits others and helps them see Jesus in a small way.
This is what our Father enjoys seeing and is delightful to all who encounter it.
So, what is our life purpose? Give glory to God by bearing much fruit. It’s not the occupation we have, the relationships that we have or the people we impact, our life purpose is to do ALL to the glory of God. When we do it WILL affect our occupation, relationships, and the people around us. All of them will be blessed by the good fruit the Spirit of God is producing in you.
Apply: What benefits have you seen when you experience the fruit of the Spirit in someone else? What blessings have you experienced as God allows you to produce that fruit in your interactions with others?
Prayer: Father, thank you for planting us in Jesus and taking the time to prune us to be more fruitful. Spirit of God work in us that we produce MUCH fruit, to the glory of our heavenly Father. AMEN.