Examining The Fruit In Your Life

Over the 33 years that I have been a believer I can honestly say that there have been times when I have seen good fruit in my life and there have been times where, shall we say, not so good fruit in my life. Slowly over the years I have figured out a few things about why this has been the case and how to produce more good fruit than bad. I hope that with this article I will be able to share with you what I have learned about examining the fruit in your life.

Good And Bad Fruit

Galatians 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The Apostle Paul in Galatians 5 talks about a war that goes on in our lives. It is a war between the flesh and the Spirit. It is a war about what type of fruit you will have in your life. In essence, it is a war between good fruit and bad fruit. Here is a list of the bad fruit.

Galatians 5:When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.

Now before you think all I am doing is pointing fingers, let me share something with you. I have had both good fruit and bad fruit in my life. It honestly depended on what I allowed to control my life. I am not pointing fingers, but instead I am pointing out what signs there are that show you whether or not you are producing good or bad fruit in your life.

Think about it. When you give yourself sexually to many partners with no commitment what do you feel like when you are all alone and  nobody is looking? Do you feel fulfilled and empowered? Do you feel satisfied and fulfilled or do you instead feel used, taken advantage of, and empty?

What about after you have strife in your life? When you are angry at people, or arguing all the time, or feeling jealous? (Maybe because the last person you were intimate with is now with someone else.) How does that make you feel? Are you happy and have joy in your life or is life a real drag?

What about the last joint or drink you had? Did it make you happy or was it a real “wasted” time? (pun intended). Did that party you went to help you succeed in life? Did it further you in your dreams?

You see, the reason we need to look at our fruit is not to follow some list of do’s and don’ts. The reason we need to examine our fruit is to see what things are helping us live happy and productive lives rather than lives filled with chaos and strife.

Examining The Fruit Of Your Life

Take a look around you. What is surrounding your life? Is it love, joy and peace, or is it hatred, unhappiness, and strife? As much as we like to look at circumstances and the people around us to find blame, when it comes down to it, we are the ones that is producing the fruit in our lives.

Take a moment to do some introspection. What is the fruit in your life? Jesus said that we will be known by our fruit.

Matthew 7:16

“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

If you were to look at your life and judge it by its fruit, what type of tree are you? What type of fruit would you like to bear? It all starts out in our relationship with Jesus. If we are bearing bad fruit, it is because we are not attached to the one who gives us the ability to bear good fruit.

John 15:4 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. 5 “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.

It does not matter if you are 15 or 85, you can still change the fruit your life is bearing. While you are living, you can live a life that has meaning and purpose and has the good fruits of love, joy and peace. When you pass from this earth to the next life in heaven, you can be known for a person who bore good fruit. Listen to this video as you contemplate what type of fruit you want in your life.

When Its All Been Said And Done By Robin Marks

Go And Bear Much Fruit

You will bear fruit in your life. The question is what type of fruit will you bear? I would pray that you would desire to have good fruit in your life and that you would bear a lot of it. As Jesus said, “you will be known by your fruit.” Go and produce a whole bunch of good fruit in your life.

John 15:8

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Blessings!

Pastor Duke