Are you a rule follower? Do you go with the flow simply because it is what you are supposed to do or do you stand your ground and stand out because you want to make a point? Rules are good in certain situations. Rules may protect you or keep situations organized and free of chaos. It is good to have rules to mold our lives and create boundaries. But, can rules end up ruling our lives?
In Galations chapters 4 and 5 we see Paul speaking to the people about obeying all of the rules. The people were struggling with the way things used to be and following the Old Testament Law. The peoples old way of thinking is that they could earn their way into a relationship with God by obeying the Old Testament Law. In these two chapters, Paul talks about how this is a form of slavery (following the rules) and he begs them to accept the freedom of salvation through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
At last we have freedom, for Christ has set us are! We must always cherish this truth and firmly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.
Galations 5:1
In the second half of Galations 5, Paul addresses the contrast between a life lived through the flesh and a life lived through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul continues to teach of the freedom that is now available in Christ rather than the old way of following the rules.
Paul goes on to highlight the role of the Holy Spirit available to all who believe. When we surrender to the Holy Spirit we naturally produce the fruit of the Spirit.
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.
Galations 5:22-23
The nine fruits of the Spirit are imparted to believers. These fruits are the obvious evidence that a person has the Spirit of God living inside and ruling over them. The fruit of the Spirit are different than the gifts of the Spirit. With the fruit, we are given all nine fruits, not just select fruits. Paul describes the different characteristics of grace that the Spirit is working on in all that believe.
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Virtue (Goodness)
Gentleness
Faithfulness
Self-Control
Fruit does not appear all at once. Fruit must grow and mature. We have an apple tree in our front yard. Last summer, (our first summer living here) the tree did not produce any fruit. We thought the tree was a crab apple tree and would just produce little tiny apples. Low and behold, this summer we saw the little apples form and they just continued to grow and grow. Eventually, some of the branches got so full and heavy they eventually broke off and hung down. I was able to gather many apples to make different apple recipies, but there were buckets and buckets of apples that ended up in the compost bin.
All summer long I saw the apples grow and multiply. This is what it is like for those of us who have the Holy Spirit living in us. None of us display all 9 fruits perfectly at all times, but when we are daily growing in our walk with Christ than each of these characteristics are growing within us and can be seen by others.
The fruit of the Spirit are not rules or requirements. They are a gift that we get to receive with grace and gratitude. They are not something we have to check off our list as something to complete and make sure we have everyday. Each gift is an attribute of God who simply wants us to trust Him to work in our lives. It’s not about following rules, but about our heart and seeking Jesus.