"The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control."
What a lovely picture of the Christian life. Does this describe your life? Would your family and close friends use these words in describing you and you interactions with them? The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our hearts and lives. The sinful nature of man produces the opposite kind of fruit. These two forces are continually fighting for control of our lives and minds. So if you want to know where you stand with the Holy Spirit, examine the fruit of your life. Is your life one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control?
Those who truly belong to Jesus Christ and live by His Spirit control their passions and desires and their sinful nature. Spirit filled people avoid sexual immorality, lustful pleasures, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, anger, self ambition, dissension, divisions and drunken wild parties that lead to their destruction. It is not difficult to conclude what kind of a person you are. Are you living in sin or do you let the Holy Spirit control your life? Just as you can tell a tree by its fruit, you can tell a person by their fruit. What kind of fruit will we see in your life?
If you have the fruit of the Spirit you will be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient and kind. You will be gentle and faithful and full of self control. If this does not describe you, then you need to stop and take a good look at your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can not fool others, you can not fool God and you should not fool yourself. Anyone living in sin will not inherit the kingdom of God, as we find in verse 21 of this chapter. The Good News is that the Lord is faithful to forgive us if we repent of our sins and invite the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and quide our lives. Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and give you THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT right now!
