Fruit growing

So Paul writes this:

"...when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22

I've written on this verse for years, but the fact is fruit is hard to find in this world, even in the church world.

Oh, the occasional piece of love, the occasional bout with joy and peace, the dribbling of patience, a moment of kindness, some goodness and faithfulness, a minute of gentleness and then there is the second, oh, mano-second of self- control shows its head.

Then mine disasters come and housing bubbles go and one day you look around and your gentleness has plunged like your blood sugar and your patience has dried up like the Aral Sea and you wonder where does it all go and what the heck happened to your fruit?

And that's where life is lived, I reason. Out there among the daily bursts of temper and frustration lies our Lord who never did much of either. He understands what we go through more than most because He has to sit and observe and die a little every time we fall. And oh do we fall?

But Paul goes on to write in verse 24 of that chapter of Galatians, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there."

That's the key to all this, I think. "Our sinful nature." It's not that we don't improve by bits and pieces, starts and stops. For some of us that's the way it is. Are we who we were when we accepted the life? That's the ticket. It isn't that we don't fall. We do, we do, we do. John tells us that if you say you have no sin, well, you're lying. So if we still sin, though we claim to be followers of Christ, what do we do with it.

Oh, we get back up, stick the nail back in the cross and watch the fruit grow a little more. And maybe next time when push comes to shove, maybe then we simply call on a bit of patience, or a dolup of goodness and we grow.

Without Christ we are nothing. With Christ we have a glowing chance.

That's life.