The fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of the transformed life of Christians. It consists of visible attributes: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. These are not individual fruits from which we pick and choose. But the fruit of the Spirit is ONE “nine-fold fruit” which illustrates a visible growth in Christ Jesus. These are the graces that all Christians should be producing in their life with Jesus Christ.

Many years ago I heard a story about twin brothers. Occasionally they had to be sentenced to “time out” - being sent to their room if they had been bad. But that discipline was not very effective because there was a big-old fruit tree right beside their window. They would climb out the window onto the roof, into the branches, down the tree, and into the fields, where they would play for a while, then come back over the fence, across the backyard, up the tree, and back into the window, and no one ever knew that they were gone.

Then one day they overheard their father saying to their mother, “Honey, this tree has not borne fruit for years. I am going to cut it down tomorrow morning.” The boys were horrified. They came up with a serious plan. That night, they went to their bedroom early, gathered together all of their money, went out the window, down the tree, and into town, where they bought all of the apples they could find, and some black cotton twine. Returning home, they proceeded to tie apples onto every branch of the tree that they could reach. Then they went to bed, and waited for their father to get up in the morning.

The father got up and went outside. Then he came back in, calling out, “Honey! Honey! It is the most astonishing thing I have ever seen! This tree which has not borne fruit for years, this morning is laden with apples! You have to see this. It is completely full of big, red, juicy apples! I cannot believe my eyes! It is a pear tree!”

Not only does fruit need to grow, but the kind of fruit which grows on the outside is a reflection of the nature of the tree. Apples grow on apple trees; pear trees produce pears. And the fruit of the Spirit which grows in your life is an outgrowth of the nature within.

As the Holy Spirit is welcomed and begins His work, the fruit will begin to manifest itself in the life, producing that which is in essence the very character of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Those who receive the seal of God will be those who have not only been swept and cleaned, but who have actually been the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and, as a result, have manifested His fruit in their life. While we pray for the outpouring of the latter rain, we must be aware that this special gift will be given for a special purpose. And it will be given only to one whose life is clearly recognized by his or her love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is given to a person who abides in the Vine.

“As you receive the Spirit of Christ, . . . you will grow and bring forth fruit. The graces of the Spirit will ripen in your character. Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely.”1

“Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.”2

May we grow in the fruit of the Spirit that we may hasten the harvest and be ready to go home.