What Kind of Fruit is Growing in Your Life? Part 2

If Part One left you feeling a little uncomfortable, that's not a bad thing. The list in 2 Corinthians 12:20 isn't meant to give us ammunition for pointing at everyone else. It's meant to hold up a mirror and help us notice what can take root in our own hearts.

But here's the good news: God doesn't simply show us what's wrong and leave us to fix it ourselves. There is another kind of fruit, and it grows when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul gives us a picture of what that looks like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These aren't nine personality traits we're expected to manufacture on our own. They're evidence of a life being changed from the inside out.

Paul's warning in 2 Corinthians 12:20 gives us one picture of what can grow in a person's life. Galatians 5 gives us another.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Paul's wording is important here: fruit grows. It takes time. I believe that is a helpful picture for Christian growth.

Following Jesus isn’t about willing ourselves through life. It’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us. Our part is to walk with Him, remain connected to Christ, listen when He corrects us, and cooperate. We aren't manufacturing fruit.

We're learning to live in a way that allows the Spirit to produce it. And sometimes that growth is easier to see by looking back.

There is still anger, but we don't stay angry as long.

There is still a struggle with jealousy, but we’re learning to celebrate others' blessings.

There are still times when the wrong thing is uttered, but we’re quicker to apologize.

That's marked growth. Not perfection. But that’s what Paul was referring to – fruit!

Let’s compare the worldly ways and the fruit of the Spirit.

Love Instead of Selfishness

Love is more than a feeling toward people we happen to like.

Biblical love seeks another person's good—even when doing so costs us something.

Paul describes it beautifully:

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Notice how many of those words directly challenge the behaviors Paul warned about in 2 Corinthians 12:20.

This doesn't mean we become a doormat. It means learning to care about someone else's good even when our own preferences aren't being met. Love changes how we argue. It changes how we speak. It changes how we lead. It changes how we respond when someone disappoints us.

And perhaps most importantly, love reminds us that Christian maturity isn't measured only by how much we know. It's measured by how we treat people.

Joy Instead of Jealousy

Jealousy whispers that someone else's blessing somehow takes something away from us. When someone gets the promotion or another business grows faster. Maybe it’s a friend getting married while we're still waiting or another’s ministry takes off while ours seems invisible.

Those things can sting. But that’s where the Spirit begins teaching us something different. Specifically, that joy doesn't require our circumstances to be perfect. And it doesn't require everyone else's circumstances to be worse than ours.

Spirit-produced joy allows us to thank God for what He's doing, even when we're still waiting for what we hope He'll do in our own lives.

Pray the simple prayer - "God, thank You for blessing them. Help me trust You with everything and in every situation."

To be honest – that is a much freer way to live.

Peace Instead of Quarreling

Peace doesn't mean avoiding difficult conversations. In fact, there are times when the only way to achieve peace is to have difficult conversations.

Paul writes:

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." Romans 12:18

“If possible . . .” is key here. We can't control another person's response. We can't force someone else to apologize, listen, forgive, or even make peace.

But we can control our part. We can refuse to escalate. We can speak honestly without trying to wound. We can apologize when we're wrong.

Jesus called peacemakers blessed.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

“Sons of God” – stop and really think about that. Making peace, as it depends on us, and we are called sons of God. Adopted as heirs to the Kingdom of the Creator, Sustainer God of the universe. That fact should bring us internal peace, regardless of the circumstances.

Patience Instead of Anger

Patience is easy to admire and surprisingly difficult to practice. Especially when someone is driving twenty miles under the speed limit in the “fast” lane. Or when the person we've explained something to three times still doesn't understand.

Patience isn't simply waiting with a calm heart and an attitude of service. Biblical patience means allowing people time and space to grow while resisting the urge to react immediately. Also, remembering that we're all a work in progress.

The person frustrating us today may simply be struggling with something we struggled with yesterday.

Keep in mind, sometimes the person who needs the most patience is ourselves. God’s not finished with us either.

Kindness and Goodness Instead of Tearing Others Down

Kindness is choosing encouragement instead of criticizing. It's giving someone the benefit of the doubt; it’s thinking the best of others.

We have all heard someone confrontationally tell someone, “I bet they wouldn’t say that to my face.” That’s a great rule to live by: if you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t say it when they aren’t around.

Goodness takes that one step further. It's not merely avoiding evil; it's actively choosing what is good. That means our words become a place of safety rather than a source of damage.

Instead of asking, "What's wrong with them?"

We need to ask,

"How can I help?"

That's a very different posture. And it's the kind of fruit people can experience when they're around us.

Faithfulness Instead of Self-Interest

Faithfulness is contrary to our human nature, unless we are talking about faithfulness to ourselves. It’s rarely impressive.

No, it’s showing up to serve when nobody notices. It's keeping your word when breaking it would be easier. It's continuing to pray when the answer hasn't come. It's doing the right thing when there isn't a reward waiting at the end.

Self-interest asks, "What's in it for me?"

Faithfulness says, "This is what I've been called to do, so I'll keep doing it."

A faithful life may not always be a spectacular life. But over time, faithfulness creates a firm foundation.

Gentleness Instead of Pride

Gentleness is often confused with being soft. It really isn’t. Gentleness is strength that doesn't need to prove itself.

A gentle person can be firm without being cruel. They can disagree without humiliating someone. They admonish without crushing. They can have authority without lording it over others.

Jesus is described as gentle and lowly in heart. But His great strength was on display in the fact that He didn’t have to be the loudest person in the room.

Like Jesus, sometimes strength looks like lowering your voice, just listening, or leaving vengeance to the Lord God.

Gentleness doesn't mean we are not strong; it means our strength is under God's control.

Self-Control Instead of Being Ruled by Our Reactions

Self-control is likely the fruit we notice the most when it’s missing. We know what it's like to say something we wish we hadn't said. Or to indulge an impulse we knew wasn't good for us. Or to let an irritation dictate our response.

Those emotions are real, but they don't have to be our master. Self-control doesn't mean we have to pretend we don't feel anger, temptation, fear, or frustration. It means those things don't get to decide what we do next.

Paul tells Timothy:

"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7

That's the freedom the Spirit offers. The ability to say, "I'm upset, but I'm not going to let my anger decide what I do."

That's self-control. And sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is simply stop, take a breath, and give the Holy Spirit room to lead our next response.

So, What Kind of Fruit Is Growing in You?

I believe Paul’s fear of finding worldly fruit in our church today would be the same as it was 2,000 years ago in the church in Corinth. Paul was asking the Corinthians to examine their hearts.

If we're honest, most of us will find a little worldly fruit growing. That's not a reason to give up. It's a reason to pay attention.

It’s a reason to remember that God’s not finished with you.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

That's the hope behind all of this. We're not trying to manufacture perfect fruit. We're allowing God to keep changing us.

Carry the Reminder with You

Sometimes a simple reminder can help us keep our hearts pointed in the right direction. That's one of the reasons we create the things we do at Reverent Awe. Wearing your faith boldly isn’t just about sparking conversations; it’s also about the reminders of who we are.

You see, our faith isn't something we want to leave on Sunday morning in the church pew. We want reminders of it in the mundane moments of life, when we're getting dressed, drinking our morning coffee, or doing any of the tasks during an ordinary day.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for the gift of the Spirit in our lives. Allow us to give the Spirit more of us, as we know we fully have the Spirit available to us. Help us produce fruit, remembering that we are a work in progress and we are exactly where You want us to be right now. All praise and glory to You – in Jesus' mighty name, Amen!

Are you in need of prayer? Leave a comment below and let us know how we can pray for you. You can also reach us via email at info@reverentawe.com.

God bless!