Favorite fruit? Do you have a favorite fruit? Apples, cherries, peaches, grapes, melon, bananas? Growing up, my mom was always recommending that I eat more fruit. There is something about fruit. Fresh. Natural. Wholesome. 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, writing to the Galatians, talks about a different kind of fruit: the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These too are in their own way natural, fresh and wholesome. They occur naturally when we cultivate life by the Spirit. In fact, they are both the outcome and the evidence of the life of Christ growing in us. By contrast, Paul also speaks of a list of the “works of the flesh.” Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. Galatians 5:19-20 Nothing fresh, natural or wholesome about these. Ironically, we don’t have to “work” too hard for these. They often show up like weeds in a garden. Left unchecked they take over and choke out what is beautiful and good. But Paul tells us that when we belong to Christ we have (and continue to) put off this old way of living. We are to pull the weeds…roots and all! The long and the short of it is that the fruit of the Spirit gives life and promotes the God’s kingdom among us, whereas the works of the flesh are in direct opposition to our growing in Christ. As we live by the Spirit, we are guided by the Spirit into a whole (and wholesome) new way of living! Paul (like my mom) urges his readers to choose fruit. So…do you have a favorite fruit? Blessings,
Matthew+ Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP p. 230) | 
