“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

The other day our neighbor knocked on my door.  He brought us a bag full of oranges from his orange tree.  He said, “The tree is full so I told your husband for you all to help yourself to as many oranges as you would like.”  I thanked him and closed the door.  I had forgotten that he had an orange tree.  But the next time that I drove by his house, you better believe I looked for that tree full of oranges!

Paul begins detailing the fruit that should be evident in a Christian’s life.  Of all the ones that Paul could have listed first, he chose to begin with “love.”  Why would Paul start with this one?  He could have begun with “joy.”  Or, “forbearance (patience)” – we could all use more of that fruit in our lives.  But “love” was the fruit of choice.

I believe that Paul began with “love” because love is the most identifiable fruit of a Christian.  Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  

You can’t fake genuine love.  Sooner or later, the real fruit of the heart is going to be exposed.  We have all been on the receiving end or we have all seen someone who talked the talk of love, but didn’t walk the walk.  Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 7:16-20.  Jesus said that a good tree can’t bear bad fruit and a bad tree can’t bear good fruit. “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

My neighbor gave us oranges from an orange tree.  There is no way that his orange tree would bear apples.  The laws of nature and God’s creative abilities do not render oranges from an apple tree.  Thus, when I drove by looking for the tree, I looked for one that had oranges hanging on it.

I know this seems so simple but I am afraid that we get this wrong.  We can say and do all of the right things, but if we don’t get the part of “…loving our neighbor as ourselves,” then I am afraid we have missed it.  Non- believers can spot a fake in a minute.  However, they can also see what is genuine and real without ever doing a deep examination of our life.  The fruit of the Spirit should be just as obvious in our lives as oranges hanging on an orange tree. 

Please don’t misunderstand this as a “scolding.”  It is not meant to be that at all.  God’s very nature and character is love.  When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit.  His fruit is deposited in our hearts.  However, we must work to clothe ourselves and grow in love and all the other fruit listed.  Paul wrote to the Colossians in chapter 3, instructing us to do this very thing.  He sums it up in verse 14 with this, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

 I am the first to say I have a long way to go and a whole lot of growing to do.  But, I am convinced that the more we seek to know Jesus and to grow deeper in our walk with Christ, the more we will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.  It will be a by-product of Jesus dwelling in us.