You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad
fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
fire. Therefore by their fruits you will
know them. Matthew 7:16-20
So what is “good fruit?”
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23
As part of my family tradition, we put up our Christmas tree
the day after Thanksgiving. As I pulled
each ornament out of the container, I thought about when it was purchased,
made, or given to me. There is a story
that goes along with each one, and I love to tell as many of them to the kids as
I can. One in particular is a bit
unusual, though. It’s a pear. A beautiful, glittery pear. It was given to me by one of my Sunday school
students about eight years ago. The note she gave with it said something to the
effect that the fruit represented her own spiritual growth because of my
teaching. The pear is just another reminder to me of the
impact I have on those around me, especially my children and other students I
work with, at home, church, or school.
This year, the pear brings out a bit more meaning as I am leading our
Ladies Bible Study using the book, Golden Fruit, by Julie Maschof, which goes
through each fruit of the Spirit. It
seems each lesson was written just for me, and the timing of each so perfectly
matches the trials and dilemmas I have encountered these past few months. So this Christmas season, as I stare into the
tree and listen to my favorite music, I’m pondering the gift God gave to us
through Christ’s death…His Holy Spirit, and to work on exemplifying “good fruit”
…. love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control.
