Freedom — In the Spirit – Thursday
TODAY’S VERSE
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)
There’s something fascinating about watching a tree over time. You can’t see it grow in a day. You don’t wake up one morning and suddenly notice leaves, blooms, and fruit where there were none the day before. Growth is slow, quiet, and sometimes imperceptible in the moment. But over time, healthy roots produce good fruit.
I once heard someone say that you can tie apples to a tree, but that doesn’t make it an apple tree. From a distance, it might look convincing. But the apples will rot, and the tree’s real fruit will grow. Tying apples to a tree doesn’t forge a connection or change its type. It’s a superficial appearance. That image sticks with me because I think sometimes we’re tempted to do the same thing in our spiritual lives and call it Christian living.
We can try to tie fruit onto our lives. We can staple an appearance of “patience” onto our interactions. We can force counterfeit “kindness” when we’re frustrated. We can manufacture something like “peace” when it’s convenient. We can fake “love” with our neighbors. But that doesn’t make it real, and it doesn’t change our hearts. It becomes exhausting, and deep down, we know the real fruit of our hearts.
The fruit of the Spirit is just that: of the Spirit. By definition, we cannot manufacture something that does not come from ourselves. But when we submit our lives to Jesus, He makes us new, sanctifying us and cultivating His fruit in our hearts.
The fruit Paul lists in Galatians 5 indicates how Jesus changes our lives when we are made a new creation. Paul calls it fruit because it grows over time. It develops as we remain connected to Jesus. That means growth is less about trying harder and more about staying closer.
So what does cultivation look like? It looks like diving into God’s Word. Spending time in prayer. Living life in community. Worshiping. Serving. Not as a way to earn salvation or mark off the checklist, but a way to seek the Lord and grow closer to Him.
If you belong to Christ, the Spirit is already at work within you. The question is not whether fruit is possible; it’s whether you’re cultivating the environment for it to grow. Because whatever you consistently give your attention to will shape you. You don’t become more loving by trying harder; you become more loving by staying close to the One who is love.
So, what are you cultivating? What are you feeding in your life? Don’t settle for stapled fruit. Stay connected to the source.
APPLICATION
Choose one fruit of the Spirit you want to see grow. Build one intentional habit and ask the Lord to cultivate it in your life (Scripture, prayer, or a specific act of obedience).
PRAYER
Lord, I don’t want to fake what only You can produce. Help me to abide in You. Grow in me the things that reflect Your character that You may be glorified. Thank You for being patient with me as You shape me to be more like Jesus.