I’ve never tasted a fruit cake I like, but I’ve
been thinking about them since my friend’s ten year old daughter, Rachel, had
another one of her Heaven dreams.
(See my earlier post about Rachel
here:) http://aplacecalledspecial.blogspot.com/2013/05/heaven-is-here.html
She told her
mom they baked a cake in Heaven made out of the fruit of the Spirit listed
in Galatians 5:22.
“.. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Rachel said,
“It is good for our spirit because it is made out of spirit stuff. It is good
for our bodies because it comes from our spirit into our bodies where we need
it.”
Maybe this fruit cake dream is a message and
reminder that the fruit of the Spirit, which we tend to think of as individual traits,
are connected; intertwined.
Instead of
wondering which one or two we need most, we are meant to see the need for ALL
of them.
So, how do we assimilate these fruit into our daily life?
What exactly
is the recipe for Spirit Fruit Cake?
Hunger
(need)
The first
step in the recipe is recognizing a need for these attributes; having a hunger
to be more like Christ in every area of life and a desire to display His
character in every circumstance.
When our
stomach is hungry we have an insatiable craving to fill it and go to great
measures to ensure our body is fed.
Without a
hunger for sustenance that feeds the spirit, it is doomed to shrivel rather
than grow.
Worse yet,
we are destined for a constant struggle to be good enough on our own.
I needn’t
remind any of us how often that fails.
Mix (add all
ingredients)
The New
Testament speaks often of being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and
walking in the Spirit filled life (Galatians 5:16).
When we receive
Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit the seeds of His fruit are planted
within us. They are one of His many gifts that help us live the abundant life Jesus
promised (John 10:10).
The growth
of these fruit depend on our need and use of them. They develop in the watered
and fertile soil of a heart surrendered to God.
1 Peter 1:
5-9 instructs us, with diligence, to “add to your faith virtue, to virtue
knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is not a buffet, picking and
choosing the fruit we like or wondering which one or two we need most.
Like any good recipe, one ingredient
blends into the next and the full use of one fruit at work in
us is hindered without incorporating the others; they cannot come to fruition
alone.
What good is
it to be a patient person if we are not kind? Where is gentleness without love?
How can we have longsuffering if we don’t possess self control? Is it even
possible to have joy without peace?
Gentleness, kindness, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control interact with one another to
create the entire recipe in the Spirit Fruit Cake.
Not one ingredient can be left out with an expectation for the finished product to turn out right.
Not one ingredient can be left out with an expectation for the finished product to turn out right.
Bake (turn up the heat!)
We all face daily situations
that present us with opportunity to react in multiple ways. Here is where the trouble
waits.
How will we
respond when the choice is callousness or kindness, irritation or patience, strife
or peace, rudeness or gentleness?
To feed our
body well and keep it healthy we have to make wise food choices. Denying our flesh
the convenient route by making a salad, takes more thought and preparation than
grabbing a candy bar.
Likewise, our
natural response to adverse and annoying inconvenience is usually an unhealthy serving
of selfishness and pride. Emotion takes over, words are unleashed and when the deed
is done, regret and misery settle in where God’s peace and serenity should live.
If we ask, God meets our practice of these fruit at each situation we face, with unlimited grace and at the exact moment of need.
Becoming intentionally
aware of God’s amazing grace at work in our life, allows us to hold our
tongue, curb our anger or see an irritating person from a different perspective.
Only He can give us insight and discernment into what triggers our flawed reactions.
Only He can give us insight and discernment into what triggers our flawed reactions.
Developing
the Fruit of the Spirit is a lifelong process. The more we practice the easier
it becomes to react out of Christ-like love, instead of flesh and out of spiritual
discernment rather than human emotion.
At some
point we more consistently respond with gentleness instead of harshness,
patience instead of annoyance, gentleness instead of rudeness, joy instead of
moodiness.
The Spirit
of God takes dominance over self and others are now fed by the nourishing fruit
within us.
Not where
you want to be yet? Don’t despair, there’s plenty of fruit cake to go around.
A steady diet of this recipe is recommended.
And no
calorie counting is required.
Colossians 1: 9-11 “For
this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,
and to ask…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good
work and increasing in the knowledge of God..”
Colossians 1:27 "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Ouch, Diane, this is so good but awfully convicting! It reminds me of what my dad has always said about the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. On the other hand, it reminds me of James' explanation that if we break one law, we're guilty of all. Perhaps your point here is if we're short in one fruit, we're short in all. Yikes. Can't say I like that, but I am hungry for His fruit to make me whole. Wow, this has my thoughts going and going and going. Sign of good writing!!
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