"A Healthy Choice"

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

So often we talk about the fruits of the Spirit as if they are just automatic byproducts of being a Christian when in truth they too are a choice. In the natural fruits are good for us. We need to have our fruits and vegetables in order to be and stay healthy. So we make a choice to add them to our diet and to eat them. We pick our favorites and they become a part our regular food intake. Why? Because they taste good and we like eating them.

The word but in the verse above tells us that these fruit of the Spirit are listed to contrast something else. The something else can be found in the previous verses and it is a whole long list of the works of the flesh. In verse 17,18 it says that... the flesh and the Spirit are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Sometimes I think that because we are Christians we think we will automatically choose the right response when these verses very clearly tell us it is a choice we make.

Just as in the natural we make a 'healthy' choice to eat fruit we need to make a healthy choice to walk in the Spirit. We can choose to love over hate. Kindness and goodness instead of meanness etc. We make a choice to walk in the Spirit or in the flesh and the fruit of that choice is, (as verse 19 tells us) is totally and completely evident to those around us.

So the question is... Have you had your daily allowance of fruit today?