by Tad Lindley
Did you ever buy fruit that looked so beautiful, but when you brought it home and tried to eat it, it was either over-ripe and mushy, or it was still unripe and really sour? With the price of fruit getting higher and higher in recent years, I make sure that I test it before I buy it. I want ripe fruit. If it is a watermelon, I pick it up and thump it. When you thump a watermelon, if it is good, it gives off a certain sound. If it is a peach or a nectarine, I squeeze it between my thumb and first finger and I look for a little bit of give in the flesh of it. When I pick salmon berries if the berry is too hard, I move my hand on to the next berry.
The fruit of Spirit
In Galatians, it talks about the fruit of the Spirit: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (5:22-23) In other words, if we are filled with the Spirit of God, people will observe the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. While every person that goes to church may not have those qualities in their lives, a true Christian does.
Do you know what God’s favorite fruit is?
If you have time to read I Corinthians 13, you will see that God indeed has a favorite fruit of the Spirit. Here is a sampling of it. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-2 NKJV) In the Bible, everyone spoke with tongues when they received the gift of the Holy Ghost (see Acts 2), and that is great, it is God’s plan. But without the fruit of the Spirit, even if we have the gift of the Holy Spirit we are nothing. This is not what I think, this is what the Bible says.
If you don’t squeeze the fruit…
It is much easier to look ripe, than to be ripe. Ten thousand mushy apples testify to that. Jesus said the same about us: “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. (Luke 6:32-34 NKJV) Almost anybody can love people who love them back. That’s easy, anybody can do it.
The squeezing of the fruit
Unless the fruit gets thumped or squeezed, you can tell if it is real or not. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. (Luke 6:35) The ripeness of the fruit only gets revealed when it is squeezed. If our love is real, the only way we will know is if we can love people who repay us with hate, with rudeness.
Have you checked your fruit lately?
So let me ask you this, when people hate you and despitefully use you, do you respond like they acted, or do you respond with love? When you face sorrow do you respond with joy? When things do not go according to your plans do you get frustrated and bitter, or are you patient and longsuffering? Is your fruit ripe, or is it rotten?
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
