True Fruit

Okay- first of all, 
how lame is fake fruit?

Yet I remember always being quite fascinated by it when I was a kid. My Mom and Dad would drag Mike (big brother), Scott (baby brother) and me (middle sister) to the furniture store, and the most fun we could suck out of that trip was playing with the fake fruit that sat so tactfully in glass bowls on top of coffee tables or kitchen counters.

Despite the glares of irritation burning from the salespeople, Mike, Scott and I would poke and play with the squishy grapes, shiny apples and textured oranges.

This was a regular occurrence; 
fake fruit never seemed to get old.

Pun intended.

However,

apparently, for me, in many ways, 
fake fruit still hasn't gotten old.

I'm finding that I am still quite fascinated with fake fruit.

But let's rewind. 

Before the Spring semester of my sophomore year at TCU wrapped up,

God let me take a sneak peek at a verse that would become one of the personal theme verses for my upcoming summer.

And, with every day that has passed during this summer break,

it has become clearer and clearer to me just how well He knows me.

It has also become very clear that He knew just what was on the lesson plan for the summer,

before I even entered the classroom.

"I am the vine and you are the branches.

If a man remains in me, and I in him,

he will bear much fruit;

apart from me he can do nothing,"

John 15:5

Without Christ, we simply don't have it in us.

Without His Spirit as my gardener, I am only bearing forcing fake fruit.

I am not bearing any fruit. In fact, I’m just forcing the production of plastic, fake fruit.

Now, my point is not to beat up on myself and resolve that I am a "fake" person.

Nor is it to "give up on myself" in a defeated kind of way.

But instead, I am finding that many of us may need to give God the victory in our lives.

We cannot attain the righteousness of Christ,

and it is only through His Spirit, 
bearing a bountiful harvest within us,

that true fruit can be produced.

True fruit?

Y'all know the verse...

"But the fruit of the Self is

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness 
gentleness and self-control."

Wait. I don't know that version,

do you?

(If yes, please feel free to toss it)

Last time I checked, Galatians 5:22 read:

"But the fruit of the SPIRIT is

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fatihfulness 
gentleness and self-control."

It is not our job to keep trying and trying until we can cross off each fruit like they’re on some kind of spiritual grocery list. Our job, actually, is to give up what we think is our job, and give it to the bearer of all fruit:

The Holy Spirit.

This verse puts it much more bluntly:

"Are you foolish?

After beginning with the Spirit,

are you now trying to attain your goal

by human effort?"

Galatians 3:3

When I really read this verse,

it has self written all over it.

Another read:

"Are you foolish?

After beginning with the Spirit,

are you now trying to attain your goal

by your effort?"

So, every day, we have a decision to make.

We can, for all our life, produce this fake fruit that is only good for decoration and child's play,

or we could give up on our selves, so to speak,

surrender to the Holy Spirit's work,

and bear fruit that gives glory to God,

not our own striving "Christian" self.

Dear Lord, 

You know how I am wired. Most times, when faced with just about anything, it is my instinct to try as hard as I can to get the best result. But, you say that apart from you I can do nothing. I don't want fake fruit. I want the fruit that comes solely from your Spirit, so that You may gain all the glory in my life. Help me to yield my heart, mind and soul to your divine gardening. Teach me to give up on my self, and give in to You. I throw all of the fake fruit away that I have been so fascinated with farming and I welcome Your Spirit into the harvest you will surely complete. 

I love you! 

In Your Name, 

Amen. 

"...The Spirit is willing, 

but the body is weak."

Matthew 26:41