Root and Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 Every gardener knows two things: The fruit depends on the root, and fruit happens naturally—fruit cannot be “willed” to appear. “Root” refers to the kind of plant it is—tomato, squash, bean, or other plant. Plants naturally produce their own kind of fruit, not the fruit of a different plant. And healthy plants naturally produce their fruit; it cannot be forced to appear.

In spiritual terms, the New Testament speaks of both root and fruit. In Colossians 2:7, Paul wrote that we are “rooted and built up in [Christ].” In other words, we are in Christ, born again to become different beings than we were before. In plant terms, whatever fruit Christ produced in His life, we should reproduce in our life. Paul also wrote of that fruit, calling it “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). That fruit cannot be willed into existence by us. It is the result of the Spirit living in us. If you want to manifest love, joy, peace, and other attributes of Christ, you must be rooted in Him by faith. From the root comes the supernatural fruit. Make it a priority to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit to others today. Fruit is evidence of the root. John Blanchard

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