But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:3-5
I am a branch; this is a title that I willingly accept in my life.
When I think of a branch the first thing that comes to mind is the extension of a tree; simple, right? A branch is a part of something much bigger than itself but plays a very important role in the success of the tree as a whole. A branch at any time may be full of fresh green leaves, fruit, flowers even, but at other times the branch may be bare. It is still alive and still connected to the tree but it is in a season of waiting—a season of needing to be content until it is time to bear fruit again. There are also those times when a branch may be broken, when the gardener needs to reattach it to the tree in a way only he can…to allow the branch to become reconnected to the tree.
I love how the relationship between God and man is illustrated. I love how He can take something as simple and beautiful as a tree and give us a visual concept that applies to our everyday life.
Like Teresa said in today’s reading, bearing fruit means more than winning souls to Christ (although that is a task we are assigned with). Remember, being a branch means that we are an extension; we are to display the characteristics of Christ.
Love – Joy – Peace – Longsuffering – Kindness –
Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control
Displaying these characteristics is part of being a branch. “We can only bear this fruit by the work of the Holy Spirit in our life.”
What is listed above is a lot of fruit—a lot of characteristics that we are commanded to display. This can be very intimidating. Yes, I pray that I can display all of these fruits of the Spirit. But I understand that I am a maturing Christian, I am a maturing woman. There may be times when I don’t display any of them, and times where I only display one or two.
God’s grace reminds me that His love for me surpasses my lack of bearing all the fruit at once. His grace also reminds me that I may be called to bear different fruits in different circumstances.
God has already “pruned and purified us.” He has already accepted us and appointed us. Ladies, let us daily remain in Christ so that we can bear His fruit and so we can be examples to others of the joy that comes from being branches of the I AM.
Don’t forget this week’s Memory Verse!
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Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us these fruits of the spirit. Thank You for making plain what is expected of us. Lord, please place on our hearts what fruit we need to display at what time. Lord, remind us that we need to stay rooted in You, through prayer and through studying Your word in order to bear fruit. In Jesus’ Name, we pray.
AMEN
About Tonya Ellison
Amen Tonya! Very well written. To have these characteristics within us, WE MUST have the Holy Spirit within us, there is no other way. We are ALL works in progress and as we grow closer to our Lord and Savior, He will grow closer to us. When I think of the branches and the Tree, I see Our Mighty Father as the Trunk…He is solid and we draw LIFE from Him. The branches are us, His children. Isn’t it just amazing how we are given reminders even in the branches of a tree 🙂 thank you Tonya, beautiful blog.
Mary, illustrations like the tree help me to see the beauty of God’s creations all around me. I love being able to look at a tree and see the relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father. James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. I saw that verse earlier this morning and it really touched my heart. I want to draw so close to God that these fruits become second nature 🙂
Amen and Amen, we need these giftings, I pray for measure of grace to bear these fruits to the glory of his name.
Amen to that prayer Ann! 🙂
I’ve seen trees that are beautiful, full, and green and then I spot one branch that is turning brown and the leaves are withering. I always find that strange that one branch on an otherwise healthy tree is dying probably from a crack or disease that has cut off its life source from the trunk. It can not produce fruit in this condition. It needs the gardener to prune, mend, and purify it so it can be healthy again. I’m thankful for this illustration because it is true for The Church also. God’s Church is that beautiful tree, and I am (you are) a branch of that tree. As long as I (we) stay healthy we will produce much spiritual fruit, but there are times when we can get a crack in our armor and “disease” will cause us to “wither and stop bearing fruit.” I’m so thankful that The Master Gardener is always willing and able to prune and purify us so that we will produce much fruit for Him again. It is our choice, as has been taught in previous lessons, to reject or allow Him to prune us. It may not always feel good but I’d rather He prune me so I can be fruitful than for me to wither and die.
Amen Clella! I agree 100% There are times when I need to be pruned. Times where I need God to work on me and in me. Thank God for His grace and willingness to do this as often as I need. I want to be pruned and tended to until I become the woman God has designed me to be. Our gardener is never far away and always willing to take care of us. 🙂
thank you, tonya, for your encouragement and admonition to ‘daily remain in Christ so that we can bear His fruit and so we can be examples to others of the joy that comes from being branches of the I AM.’ as in so much of our walk with our Lord, we have been incredibly provided for…now what are we going to do with it? <3
Good self-reflection question. Grear journal prompt, what are we doing with it? 🙂
The gifts of the Spirit are inter-connected, often if we are failing at one the others suffer, for instance when I do not have patience and wait on His timing, I can start to lose self-control, get annoyed, frustrated and am no longer loving, kind, gentle, etc….
I am so very thankful we have a loving Father who convicts us, allows us to repent & ask for forgivenes & that He is always faithful to forgive us. All I want in life is to live so that all I do reflects His love, glorifies Him to the world. Praise be our Heavenly Father!!
Good point Paula, this is something to pay attention to.
I loved this lesson today and the blog is great as well! I especially loved the reflection on what kind of branch we are right now. But, Tonya, you hit it right on the head, we are ever changing branches – some days we are in full bloom, others we are in need of reattachment. Thankfully, our Father is with us in all our phases. Love the symbolism the Great I AM has given us.
The deeper our roots go into God’s Word, the greater impact we will have. Our branches will be healthy and strong. I love that Jesus used word pictures to speak to our hearts. His love is so relatable. Good blog Tonya.
I’m glad God chooses to prune us every now and then. Pruning brings on new growth, and we can’t go wrong with new growth!! Amen?!
Great blog Tonya!
He is the vine we are the branches. Apart from Him we cannot bear fruit!!
I am so thankful that as He prunes me I become someone different because I’ve grown from the pruning process, and the more I get to know Him deeper He continues to prune, and I continue to grow. Thanks Tonya for this beautiful message!