Harvesting the Fruit of Love

Most of us like to see fruitfulness for our work. If we don’t expect compensation for our labor, why would we make an effort to obtain it? Reaping fruit is the reward for our labors. It’s what makes us get up and get going each morning.  It motivates us to try, risk it all, work hard, and to try again when we fail. It’s what we continue to strive for, even when storms and struggles come. As I recently thought about the fruit I’ve been striving to produce in my life, God showed me that my energy and desires have been too focused on harvesting the fruit of my own hands. He has gently prompted me to consider His fruit, as found in Galatians 5:22-23. So, I decided to look into all nine of them and today I’m starting with the fruit of love.

Over the last month or so, I’ve been asking, or should I say, almost begging and pleading for God to bless our labors with fruitfulness—spiritually, physically, professionally, relationally, monetarily and materially. To be honest, I’ve kind of been pouting about not seeing progress, productivity, and payment for our efforts. It has seemed like we’ve been spinning our wheels without reaping from our sowing. As a result, it’s been draining my motivation and driving me to cry out to God. The amazing blessing is—He has patiently listened to my whining, sent encouragement in various ways, and is teaching me a comforting lesson that is bringing solace to my season of doubt. God has also lovingly set me straight on a few things, while showing me that:

• I’m becoming too reliant on what we do to provide for us
• I’m putting my wants and preferences ahead of His desires for me
• I’ve lost focus of which fruit is most important to God
• I’ve forgotten where my harvest comes from

As always, He’s right! I’ve been way off base and living in unnecessary stress, fear, and frustration while trying to reach my own fruitfulness. It’s not that my desires are bad or wrong, some just aren’t in my power to produce or aren’t priorities. God wants to see the fruit of His Spirit in me:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Faith
• Meekness
• Temperance

These are the fruits I should be craving and striving for, not my fruitfulness.

Securing the Fruit of Love

One of the first fruits God wants to produce in us is the fruit of love. We’re created in His image to love like Him, but only He can produce this love in us. God is love and love is a fruit of His very own Holy Spirit.

“…God is love; and he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in Him.”
1 John 4:16b

Seeing the Fruit of Love

Too often, we try to obtain love from the wrong sources and in the wrong ways. We can also get so busy chasing the things we love, or trying to get others to love us, that we miss out on the love God provides that helps us see fruitfulness in our relationships, health, hearts and homes.

Godly fruitfulness comes when we let God’s Spirit place His fruit securely in our gardening hands. Then, we harvest love.

Bring It Home

Are you allowing God’s Spirit to produce fruit in your garden today?

Praying for you as we grow together,

Smiles, BRC