Reflections

The fruit of the Spirit

One of the questions frequently asked by new Christians is this: Does the Holy Spirit  dwell in me? If so, how can I tell?

We can tell how much of the Holy Spirit dwells in us by the fruit of His presence. Love: Am I able to show love to the people whom normally I would dislike?  Joy: Am I a happy Christian?  Peace: Am I secure and serene when things don't appear to be going right?  Long suffering: Am I patient and able to bear with other people's faults and imperfections?  Kindness: Do I excel in the demonstration of kind and tender actions?  Goodness: It was said of Jesus that "He went about doing good". Do I? Faithfulness: If my whole life suddenly crashed about me, would I still trust Him?  Meekness: Am I gentle in my rebukes, and Christlike in my judgements? Temperance: Am I self controlled in all things?

These nine qualities of life are the natural result of the Spirit abiding within. It is well to note that when Paul in Galatians 5 speaks of the self-centred and egocentric life, he refers to it as. "the works of the flesh", but the result of the indwelling Spirit is defined as "fruit". What is the difference? "Works" points to something manufactured and not natural, whilst "fruit" points to something that develops in an effortless way. Evil is, in fact, alien to our personalities but goodness suits us. It was the thing  for which we were made - a natural. In some Christian circles, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the power characteristics of the Spirit, but we must see that power without purity results in us being unbalanced Christians.