The apostle Paul admonished the Galatians to avoid the "works of the flesh" but to covet the "fruit of the Spirit." (Galatians 5:22, 23)
Works ... things we make, build, manufacture ... things! Works are the results of labor.
Fruit, on the other hand, does not depend on our genius. Fruit is the natural result of growth. We can facilitate growth by tending to the details of cultivation, but fruit grows naturally, under proper conditions.
The virtues enumerated by Paul as the "fruit of the spirit" are the natural result of a converted, committed life. They begin to bloom at the time of conversion ... justification. They grow and mature over a lifetime ... sanctification.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, integrity, humility, temperance ... these are virtues of a genuine Christian experience. They are social values, virtues of human relations. They are personal values of a born-again Christian, reflections of a relationship with God.
The bountiful tree produces fruit without explication. We may see and enjoy the look and the taste of fruit without any knowledge of biology. So with the Christian; others may look at a Christian and judge him to be a Christian without any first-hand knowledge or experience in Christ. Jesus said, By their fruit you will recognize them."
Eveyone admires those virtues. Spectators may decide they would like such virtues. But not understanding the process by which fruit matures, they procure what only appears to be fruit. They attempt to do by works that which born-again believers do by nature.
Suppose we represent virtues by pears. A Christian is a pear tree, and bears pears, virtues. Apple trees bear apples - not virtues.
If I have an apple tree, it bears apples. But the apples are not the virtues I need. I want it to bear pears. So I go out and get a basket of pears. Then I pull each apple from my tree and tie in its place a pear.
Now I have a pear tree, right? No, of course not! It is still an apple tree. The pears will rot and fall off, and apples will grow on the tree.
A child is told by his mother or teacher or preacher that he should exhibit certain characteristics - as a reward for which he will go to heaven. So the child ties on pears, good works.
A man attends a revival meeting and is told that apples are not good. They should be replaced by pears. So he gives up bad habits and replaces them with good "works." Sincere? Yes, he is sincere. But sincerity produces man-made virtues.
All the more tragic, then, his disillusionment when he discovers the pears, not actually part of the tree, spoil and fall, and apples grow instead.
The only way an apple tree becomes a pear tree is by a miracle. Were the Lord to command, "Be thou a pear tree" we would see a complete change in the nature of the tree. It would become a pear tree. It would bear pears! That is the baptism of the Spirit we talked about before.
There is only one way a sinner can become a saint ... by a miracle. We can pull off wrong habits and actions, even attitudes. We can tie on good works. But unless and until the Spirit performs the miracle of conversion, we will not bear the "fruit of the Spirit." Until we invite the Spirit into our lives, apparent "good works" are a sham.
When we are truly converted, when by the baptism of water and the Spirit we become new creatures, then we will bear good fruit. We will bear it naturally, without external exertion. We will no longer be apple trees, nor will we bear apples. We will be pear trees, and we will bear pears.
The Pharisees were sincere, dedicated men, trying to do what is good and right. Jesus did not criticize them for insincerity, but for the wrong approach to righteousness. Righteousness is a gift, but they wanted to earn it!
Now . . . let's look at the fruit . . .
These three . . .
Love -- Pomegranate
Joy -- Lemon
Peace -- Date
Love, joy, peace --attributes of God, attributes of godly people.
Pomegranate -- Love
Love, the first and basic virtue, is the foundation for all other virtues. Love is the fundamental principle of the Kingdom. On this principle all others solidly rest.
Love is the one description of God of which we are sure. We know little else. We contemplate. We speculate. We don't know very much about God, except that "God is love." (I John 4:8) But what else do we need to know?
God is love. As beings created in his image, we are manifestations of God's love. We are created with an inherent desire to love and be loved. We are created with an instinct and a capacity for caring and sharing ... love.
The pomegranate was an ancient symbol of fertility. What a fitting symbol for love, life, creativity!
The robe of the high priest in Israel was adorned with imitation pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet. The pomegranate was the one fruit taken into the most holy place of the tabernacle, and the one fruit which was forbidden in the pagan temple of the Mistress at Lycosura in Arcadia! What a contrast! Love in the worship of God, forbidden in pagan temples!
The pomegranate has been used for physical healing. The leathery skin, together with the bark of the tree, was used as medicine. Love is the balm of life. It is medicine to the soul. Love is the medicine Jesus used to heal broken hearts and bodies.
Mohammed offered the pomegranate for spiritual health. "Eat the pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred." Love will drive out envy and hatred, will heal the soul of uncomely blemishes of character and personality.
Pomegranates were believed to have sprung from the blood of Dionysus. We don't accept this myth, of course, but we surely believe that true love is possible thru the life of Jesus Christ. We cannot live as he lived until we love as he loved. One Greek word translated "love," agape, connotes a welling forth of care and concern, regardless of merit.
As Solomon maintained an orchard of pomegranate trees, let us maintain a garden of love, genuine love for God and for others.
Lemon -- Joy
Joy is a natural second step from love, and is the natural prelude to the third virtue, peace. "The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit," (Rom.14:17)
As with pomegranates, lemons have been used medicinally. And as with love, joy is an agent of healing, both mentally and physically.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22)
A chinese proverb challenges that a man must not open his shop in the morning until he smiles.
Some bright modern has said, "He who laughs, lasts." How true! Laugh, and last! When witchcraft was practiced in England, Sicily and Italy, one would write the name of the intended victim on a slip of paper, then stick a pin through the paper into a lemon. It was supposed to cause suffering and death.
What suffering we indeed cause when we prick the joy of someone else! Gossip, unwarranted criticism, needless and heedless failure to love and cheer up others.
We speak of a bad purchase as a "lemon." If we add the sugar of a pleasant disposition, and enough water to wash out all the bitterness ... we have lemonade!
In some parts of the Malay peninsula, where tin-mining is the chief industry, the natives believe spirits inhabit the ore. They also believe lemons are distasteful to the spirits. So lemons are forbidden in the mines.
How distasteful is a joyful heart to an evil spirit. When the evil spirits of gloom, doubt, fear, worry, anger, greed and envy inhabit the mine shafts of your soul, joy is the one sure remedy. It works swiftly and effectively. If joy seems difficult to come by, try singing, whistling, smiling, praying! The ready response of others will encourage you to sing, whistle, smile more easily!
I was told lemon trees bloom throughout the year ... always in season! There is no time when joy is not in season in the heart of the Christian.
I once preached the funeral of an old man in a small country town. After the service, I took the widow, nearly 90, back to the city to live with her children. She seemed to me somewhat untouched by the loss of her companion of more than half a century. I tactfully asked her about this.
"My husband was a Christian. I am a Christian," she explained. "I know that I, too, shall soon die. But death is no enemy to us who know the Lord Jesus Christ." What Joy!
Date -- PEACE
"Peace I give you . . ." said Jesus. Peace!
Artists once competed to see who could best portray peace. There was many a scene serene. The winning painting was not a picture of a meadow, nor of unruffled water in a silvery lake, nor of a quiet cottage nestled in lilac trees. It was a picture of turbulent waters dashing over the rocks of a cataract, wildly billowing white foam and mist, a swirling river. Above the violent cataract the trees were blowing roughly in the storm.
On one branch of a swaying tree was a nest, on which a mother bird was peacefully feeding her young.
Peace is serenity amidst the rolling waters of life's rough sea. It is "Christ in you" even while "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (I Peter 5:8)
When we think of peace, we think of palm trees gently swaying in the south sea breeze. As for me, it would be sort of nice to lounge in the shade of the tall giants, munching the tasty dates from a stately palm!
The long, graceful leaves of the date palm are used in observing Palm Sunday, a memorial to the day Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem. His followers had in mind the mark of a mighty conqueror. But in the heart of Jesus there was peace toward all.
The leaves of the date palm are also used by Jews in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, a week-long memorial to their deliverance from bondage. The feast is held in the fall, after the harvest, and is a semblance of a Jewish thanksgiving. Any nation at peace has much for which to be thankful. Any citizen of God's Kingdom of Love has peace in his heart. He lives at peace, even in a troubled world.
Palms grow to heights of 60 to 80 feet and live to be as old as 150 years. The person of peace should expect long and happy years. As the fruit of the date palm is half sugar, the saints of God bear sweetness and pleasantness.
A person with inner peace may be a crusader for social justice. Jesus, Prince of Peace, paid the penalty of leadership. His followers will likewise be saints of peace, and will likewise face tests of character. It is not a smooth road, not an easy path. Peace is the fortitude to surmount obstacles with an even disposition, a positive approach, a controlled temperament.
Peace passes all understanding. Both the understanding and the acquisition are for those who first learn the virtues of love and joy.
These three -- love, joy, peace . . .
And these three . . .
Patience -- Banana
Kindness -- Fig
Generosity --Coconut
The second series of virtues --patience, kindness, generosity -- refer mainly to our relationship with others. Notice how these graces run the range from passive to active. Patience is a somewhat passive acceptance of the frailties of ourselves and others. Kindness is more active, generosity still more active. So does our experience grow, the fruit of our spiritual life mature.
Banana -- PATIENCE
Bananas, like some other fruit, have been linked in mythology with fertility and the soul. Many natives believed that the ghosts of ancestors haunted banana groves. The wise men of India, many centuries ago, sat beneath the banana tree to ponder . . . and eat bananas!
Bananas have sometimes been misunderstood. When I was a baby my parents were told never to feed me bananas. They were too hard to digest! Now bananas are a part of a baby's diet ... because they are so easy to digest!
Patience is often misunderstood. What we interpret as lack of strength may actually be patience.
The line between patience and passivity is a fine line. If we develop the virtues of love and joy and peace, we will have a framework in which patience will fit naturally.
Jesus was patient with the rich young ruler, with the little man in the tree, with the prostitute brought by the Pharisees, with the woman at the well. And with the mothers and their children, and with the hungry multitude. He was even patient with his sleepy disciples.
Patience is not a weak character nor a lack of decision. Vacillation in convictions is cowardice, not patience. Love and compassion demand action and conviction. Patience demands that we allow for individual differences ... even in "black-and-white" matters of "right and wrong." It is not easy. Indeed, it is nigh impossible except thru love.
Fig -- KINDNESS
"To sit every man under his fig tree" was a Jewish expression for peaceable possession of the Holy Land. There are two ways to win a battle ... by might or by kindness. "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
Mohammed, when he had eaten a fig, said, "Truly, if I were to say that any fruit had come down from Paradise, I would say it of the fig."
There's a wideness in God's mercy
like the wideness of the sea.
There's a kindness in His justice
which is truly liberty.
The word translated "kindness" (gentleness is the King James version) means "usableness." The Christian is kind, makes himself useful to others. Kindness is not simply a passive, gentle spirit. It is an active, interested love for others.
"Love suffers long, and is kind." If we are baptized by the Spirit we can be treated unfairly, as was Jesus, and return kindness and a healing hand and a loving word, as did Jesus.
Many of the natives in Asia and Africa, where figs are grown extensively, "marry" the fig trees by tying strings of fruit between fig trees in their orchards. This is to make the cultivated fig trees bear fruit! I suspect it is only a myth.
Kindness begets kindness. One kind word cheers the heart of another who in turn is kind to others. A chain reaction of happiness is carried far beyond the hopes and expectations of the first kind person. And the kind one receives kindness in return. One of life's most beautiful compensations is that kindness, like smiles, warms the soul of the giver even more than the one to whom it is given.
Coconut -- Generosity
Indians claim the coconut tree was created by Sage Sisvamitra, a great thinker. In northern India the coconut is called Sriphala, fruit of Sir, goddess of prosperity. Goddess of prosperity! What a symbol for generosity! "Give, and it will be given to you." (Luke 6:38) Prosperity follows generosity ... a law of the Kingdom.
This is one of the basic, yet elusive principles of Christianity. He who is generous, truly generous, is rewarded by prosperity. It is only true of genuine generosity ... giving for the joy of giving. If reward is the motive, it is not generosity! He who gives "to be seen of men" has his reward. The reward is the esteem of others. But if we give from the motive of love, and only from this motive, we are rewarded many times over -- "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:6)
This important principle is a spiritual insight which comes only thru prayer . . . and practice!
Fuller said, "As the sword of the best tempered metal is most flexible, so the truly generous are most pliant and courteous in their behavior." Lavater added that the generous person who is just, and the just who is generous, "may, unannounced, approach the throne of heaven."
Then, of course, Bunyan's famous line: "A man there was, and they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had."
"What I gave, I have; what I spent, I had; what I kept, I lost." Generosity is love in action. Commentators have pointed out that the Greek word translated generosity ("goodness" in the King James version) connotes a truly benevolent interest in others.
In northern India the coconut is the symbol of fertility. Generosity is truly a virtue of fecundity.
These three -- love, joy, peace . . .
And these three --patience, kindness, generosity
And yet three more . . .
Integrity -- Orange
Humility -- Grape
Temperance --Peach
After we develop a good working relationship with God, we can relate meaningfully to others. And when we have developed such a relationship to others we advance to self-realization, self-fulfillment, self-actualization.
Spiritual awareness prepares us to manifest the virtues of integrity, humility, temperance. Attitudes of love, joy and peace have led us to attitudes of patience, kindness and generosity, which now lead us to attributes of integrity, humility and temperance.
Orange -- Integrity
Integrity is more than business honesty. Honesty in attitudes is just as important, and perhaps more rare, than honesty in actions. Intellectual honesty means sincerity, objectivity, rationality in our thinking habits. Unfortunately, it is often blocked by prejudices, preferences and preconceptions.
The orange, "golden apple of Hesperides," is said to have been given by Jupiter to Juno at their wedding. Fidelity is often symbolized by the orange in mythology. In Japan, they say the orange was brought from the Eternal Land at the request of the Emperor, and they use it to symbolize purity and chastity.
Orange blossoms are a favorite flower for wedding bouquets. If integrity were carried from the altar, as orange blossoms are carried to the altar, there would not be a divorce for every two marriages!
The relationship which is really significant is the mystical experience of the "divine-human encounter" which is understood best by those who realize the experience of complete spiritual integrity.
Integrity is more than business ethics, intellectual honesty and fidelity. It is veracity. A person who believes something is wrong, but who does nothing to change the wrong, lacks integrity; he is dishonest.
How unfortunate is the person who but passively accepts the principles of Christ. There is no such person as a passive Christian! The philosophy of Christ is the philosophy of love ... and love is active. Integrity is living one's faith in the context of his convictions.
Grape -- Humility
How few truly humble souls dwell upon this earth! As with generosity, humility is easily misunderstood and often counterfeited. Modesty, reserve, constraint are hallmarks of greatness. Craven self-abnegation, self put-down is a counterfeit for humility.
Grapes are wholesome fruit. They are small. They grow on small vines. No tall, stately trees or spreading branches; just vines which climb humbly up the fence to produce their modest fruit.
Grape juice is a nutritious drink ... and becomes a dangerous liquor when it ferments. Humility is a wholesome virtue, but becomes a tragic counterfeit when it spoils. Those who display false modest make a mockery of humility.
Pride is the antithesis of humility, and its arch enemy. Pride is a vice. Yet pride is also a virtue. Pride in one's self is sin. Pride in one's name and honor is a virtue. Without humble pride one can reach no pinnacles, no mountaintops, no peaks of victory and success. But there is also the proud humility (false humility) of people who make sure they are noticed and appreciated for their "meekness."
You have noticed how very genuine and unaffected truly great people are. Less successful people are often affected and officious and proud. But not the great. They are humble.
Let us be free from sour grapes at a time of failure. Let no grapes of wrath spoil our vision of a better life.
Peach --TEMPERANCE
In China there is believed to be a living soul-substance, or spiritual force in the peach tree. Peaches bring long life and health. A peach branch is hung over the doorway to dispel the evil sprits from the home.
A chinese child often wears a peach seed on a string around his neck to keep the demons away.
Temperance will reward you with long life, health and peace.
The curse of a good cause is not its antithesis, but is its extreme. Temperance is good. Extremism is not good. Health-centered living leads to long life and happiness. Not so with fanaticism.
Temperance refers to wholesome things. You can not take a modest dose of poison and call it temperance. A tiny little bit of gossip is sin.
Temperance in good things, abstinence from unhealthy things, unrestrained dedication to necessary things ... some fine lines and gray shades! Temperance is not an easy virtue to understand, even less easy to activate in our lives.
" . . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:22 - 25)
Let us pray . . .
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