The Fruit of Love

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love”—Galatians 5:22

Last year while on vacation, I went to visit one of my best and oldest friends. He lives on a small farmstead, with a very large garden. It was filled with everything: watermelons, cantaloupes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, different kinds of squash, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, different kinds of fruit and nut trees such as a peach tree, apple tree, English walnut, Chinese chestnut, butternut, and persimmon trees (He just planted 26 different trees). But, as we walked around I was struck not just by the sheer magnitude of his garden, but, the time, diligence, and knowledge it took to bring it about. I was humbled and a bit ashamed. I grew up spending most of my time on a farm. Both of my grandfathers were farmers and their families before them. My brother and mother both have green thumbs, but for whatever reason I can’t even keep the vine in my office alive!

The Bible is filled with imagery of growth including the Garden of Eden, Noah being the first wine expert, Christ being the vine and us the branches, the sower going out to sow seed and us being grafted into the olive tree of Israel. The list is extensive. It is no wonder then that the Apostle Paul would turn to the imagery of fruit when talking about the evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

A tree is known by its fruit and if we are rooted in Christ, and His Spirit is in us, then we will produce fruit indicative of that relationship. The first fruit Paul mentions is the greatest of all fruits: love. Love is evidenced in our character and our conduct—we desire to love and then we choose to love.

Love is more than a feeling. It is a conscious choice of caring for another person—that is, having a deep affection for another person that arises out of being connected to Christ. We are able to love, only because God in Christ first loved us. And who are we to love? In short, everyone! We love God first and then we love those who are close to us, those who disagree with us, those who are different from us, and those who irritate us.

The question is, is this love apparent in our life? If it isn’t, then what is wrong? Are we not taking root and bearing fruit? Are we not cultivating the life of God within us? We need to repent, devote ourselves to God, renew our minds, and ask Him to help cultivate within us these godly graces so that His name might be praised. Amen.