WHY THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23).

Initial glance gives us a most natural insight of welcome to each of these traits.  Who wouldn't want to possess these?  Who would reject these qualities?  No one.  Each is effective for every moment.

Yet, this Galatians text isn't just about labeling fruit.  

It is of utmost importance to note the Fruit Bearer; the Holy Spirit.  And, the location of this Spirit fruit being born?  Within or from a believer.  This is major.

Christians find ourselves in places of pressure.  Discouragement pushes us to do many things; lash out, unload, or maybe give up and quit.  It is within such uncomfortable moments that we need to be more than we can be from a Source who is more than we are.  Enter the Holy Spirit.

What the Spirit does for a believer in Jesus is He helps us hold on when we feel like we are about to cave.  He works from within us to see that what comes out of us does not resemble our moody, hateful dispositions; but rather the spirit of our Leader, Jesus.

The fruit is of the/from the Spirit; not from our recycled determination to behave better.  He, the Spirit of Jesus, allows a sweetness to issue from his disciples that would be of the nature of him; not of us.

These are not fruits; plural.  This is the fruit of the Spirit.  He will bear each of these in us when we can't muster another ounce of a try-harder-to-be-good attitude.  

Our job is two-fold.  Believe Him and let Him.

Every kingdom laborer is in need of Holy Spirit fruit because we are each pressed and distressed beyond cope-ability.  However, due to this promise of His fruit within us, we have a new hope; not about others first, but about ourselves and what we can endure to see that others are drawn to him.

To be like Jesus is more than a song.  It is a system; that of the Holy Spirit of God who would love to display the Son as coming from within us that we might have a tendency to look more like him.