Road Fruitfeatured

Galations 5: 22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Now I will get back to that verse in a minute but let me first set some modern-day context.  I live in Houston, Texas where we have traffic with a capital T.  We have the dubious honor of reportedly having the widest stretch of highway in the world – Interstate 10 with 26 lanes (includes frontage roads).  I live about 1 mile from this wonder of the world and can tell you that despite its vast size, it is often totally clogged with traffic.  While I haven’t yet experienced road rage on this slab of concrete, I often experience road annoyance and irritation.  Incredibly I find that almost no one is driving the way I think they should!  They are either going too slowly (the speed limit) or too fast and too wildly.  Often, the kindest words out of my mouth are “idiot” and “moron.”

So back to our verse in Galations.  Wouldn’t dealing with traffic be so much easier if we all exhibited the fruit of the spirit while driving?  I think if I was able to genuinely demonstrate patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, then the love, joy, and peace would follow.  A couple of observations about this verse:

• We don’t get to cherry-pick (cute pun-huh!) which fruit we will “specialize” in. Both the noun and verb in this sentence are singular so it’s a kind of all or nothing deal.
• We also don’t get to cherry-pick at which moment we demonstrate this fruit. Prior to this verse, the Apostle Paul tells us to walk in the Spirit.  He says nothing about when things are going your way walk in the Spirit or only walk in the Spirit when times are tough.  God desires for us to walk in the Spirit and bear His fruit all of the time.
• It is fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of my own grit and determination and will-power. If I try to be fruitful through my own strength – failure ensues – as evidenced by my responses to Houston traffic!  It is only through the power of the Spirit that we have any chance of living this out.

You may not have to deal with Houston traffic but all of us have something that tests our own limits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  I have absolutely no control over the way other people in Houston drive, but I do have a power within me (the Holy Spirit) that can help me respond without annoyance and irritation and ugly words.  I just have to invite Him to help me experience Road Fruit!  I’m going to try to remember that the next time some jerk (oops – child of God) cuts me off.

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