The fruit

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."Galatians 5:22-23

Notice that the word is "fruit," singular, not "fruits." It is not a menu to choose from ("I'll take the peace, but you can keep the forbearance"). It is one fruit with nine flavors, ripening together, slowly, on the same tree. Paul chose the image with a farmer's precision.

Because fruit is not manufactured; it is grown. Nobody squeezes an orange tree to get an orange; nobody assembles a grape on a production line. What the farmer does is take care of the connection: good soil, water, sun, and the sap does the rest, in its own time. Life with God is the same: you do not produce patience by gritting your teeth. It grows, almost without you noticing, in whoever stays connected to the source.

And notice the contrast earlier in the chapter: the "acts" of the flesh (acts: things done, manufactured, effort) against the "fruit" of the Spirit (something grown, life). A lot of people quit the faith out of exhaustion from manufacturing goodness by willpower. The good news of Galatians is that Christianity is not a factory; it is an orchard.

So if you looked at the list, love, joy, peace, forbearance..., and sighed "I am far from that," easy: green fruit is not failure; it is fruit on the way. The right question for today is not "have I ripened yet?" but "am I planted?" Application: water the root today, ten unhurried minutes of Word and prayer. Taking care of the connection is your part. The ripening is up to the sap.