Bearing Fruit

When we think of lists, we often think of a list of things we have to remember or do. Grocery lists, chore lists, lists of names or dates to memorize for a test. 

So when we come to the Fruit of the Spirit, it’s easy to think of this list of characteristics as another “to-do” list. As if Paul is saying to us each morning “Don’t forget to practice all these things today—be peaceful at 9am, joyful at 11, and be sure to work gentleness in there before dinner.”

While the Fruit of the Spirit are characteristics we’re called to embody, Paul makes it clear in Galatians 5 that this list isn’t a to-do list, but a promise. Those who live by the Spirit will bear good fruit. This fruitfulness isn’t the result of self-effort and personal striving, but comes by abiding in Christ, as a branch to a vine, that we might experience the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit.