Fruit just happens. When life flows through the vine or tree, fruit just pops out. It’s a natural thing and that’s how you can tell what kind of a tree it is, by the fruit that it bears.
Did you know that a Christian is supposed to bear fruit just like a tree bears fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23 we are told that the Holy Spirit wants to produce fruit in the life of a Christian:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Now, these are wonderful qualities of life and they are called the fruit of the Spirit, that which the Spirit produces.
The word fruit is the literal word for fruit, especially fruit that is picked or plucked. But is can also be used in a figurative sense, to refer to a result or an outcome of something. We say the fruit of his labors was a successful life, and by that we are referring to the result of his labors.
Now what the apostle Paul is saying in Galatians 5:22 is that the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is a new quality of life that exhibits these nine characteristics. In other words, when we become a Christian by receiving Christ as our Savior, then the Holy Spirit begins to produce these qualities in us that make us more like Christ. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit begins to work in our life so that we begin to think differently and act differently. We become more loving and considerate of those around us. We become more joyful because there’s a new hope for the future. We are more at peace and less anxious about the trouble around us. Do you get the idea? God wants us to bear fruit!
Are you seeing any fruit in your life? That’s one of the ways you can tell if you are really a Christian.