God doesn’t practice the fruit, He is the fruit

Seeking the fruit of the Spirit is seeking God.

I have been thinking about this lately, and the more I think about it, the simpler it becomes.

God's character is the very character we see in the fruit of the Spirit.

If we are to become more and more like Jesus, the way is by seeking God, walking in the Spirit, and focusing on things above.

Did I mention seeking God?

When we focus our lives on God, we look to Him for guidance. We want more of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. We want to walk in the Spirit and bear fruit.

But here is what I am beginning to understand more deeply:

The fruit is the very character of God.

God doesn't practice the fruit.

He IS the fruit.

God IS love.

God IS joy.

God IS peace.

God IS patient and kindness.

There is a difference between practicing something and being something.

I can practice joy.

I can try to be joyful. I can act joyful. I can tell myself to choose joy.

Or joy can grow in me.

And I believe this is what seeking God and walking in the Spirit does. It grows—manifests—joy in my life.

It is less like me trying to have joy and more like joy having me.

The very Spirit of God lives in me. And when I am seeking Him, focusing on Him, and walking in His ways, His character begins to grow out of my life.

Less trying.

More being.

I can be joyful as God is joyful because I am His daughter and His Spirit is living in me.

Can you see the difference?

I can try to act joyful in my own strength. But if I'm being honest, at some point my joy will be overridden by a very human emotion.

And emotions are normal. I am certainly not saying we shouldn't feel or display them. We are human, and we experience a wide array of emotions as we walk through everyday life.

(Stick with me here.)

If I am working to be joyful on my own, apart from the Spirit, eventually all I have to draw from is my own humanity.

And if that is all I have, then human emotion is all I will display.

But if I am seeking God and walking in the Spirit—and I believe seeking God is the way we learn to walk in the Spirit—then something else is happening.

The fruit of the Spirit begins to grow.

Because the Spirit is not asking me to manufacture something He already is.

God IS.

And so is the Spirit He gave me when I became a believer in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

It is really not that complicated.

What is complicated is trying to manifest the fruit of the Spirit—God's state of being—on my own.

Nobody can pull that off.

Maybe we can appear to have the fruit on our own for a while. We can mimic patience. Pretend to have peace. Work really hard at being loving. Put on a joyful face.

But eventually, human effort runs out.

And when it does, it can leave us discouraged and disappointed.

The world and its ways are simply more powerful than human effort.

But the Spirit of God?

There is no greater power in all the world, the universe, or anything that exists.

So why would I knowingly try to mimic God without Him?

I am unable.

Why would I not seek God and practice walking in the Spirit when I know the fruit will grow in such a nourishing environment?

My effort?

God's effort?

There is no comparison.

My effort is weak.

God's effort is limitless. (And since the fruit of the Spirit is WHO GOD IS there really isn’t an effort. Does it take effort to display my personality? No. It happens without me trying because it is integral to who I naturally am.)

I love that my mind has shifted. My heart has changed. Increasingly, I am more focused on obtaining the fruit of the Spirit—being more like Jesus—than obtaining the things of the world.

Not all the time.

But increasingly so.

And that matters.

So Let's Grow Some Fruit

God is the gardener.

Jesus is the demonstrator.

And the Spirit is the rich soil and life-giving water that produces a rich and ripe crop.

My job isn't to become the gardener.

My job is to remain.

To seek.

To abide.

To walk.

Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you.” He reminds us that a branch cannot bear fruit by itself. It must remain connected to the vine. And apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

That changes everything for me.

I don't have to strain to produce fruit.

I need to stay connected to the One who produces it.

Seek first the kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:33)

Seek Him because He rewards those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Ask. Seek. Knock. (Matthew 7:7–8)

Set your mind on the things of the Spirit, because the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5–6)

Remain in Him.

Bear fruit.

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:8)

Did you catch what Jesus is saying in John 15:8?

In bearing fruit, bringing glory to God becomes less about human effort.

Growing fruit comes by walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit comes by seeking God. And as we seek God and walk in the Spirit, the fruit begins to grow in us.

We still seek. We still choose to remain. But the fruit itself is not something we have to exhaust ourselves trying to produce.

The Spirit produces it.

And because the Spirit is producing the fruit in us, bringing glory to God becomes less about me putting effort into giving Him glory and more about His glory naturally growing out of my life.

Mind-blowing!

And amazingly wonderful news that I don't need to exhaust myself trying to produce the fruit on my own!

God IS fruitful

God does not practice the fruit of the Spirit.

He IS the fruit of the Spirit.

And perhaps that is what I am learning most.

For every fruit, God has already said, I AM.

I said I wanted joy.

God said, I AM Joy.

I said I wanted peace.

God said, I AM Peace.

I wanted love.

God said, I AM Love.

He IS.

And through His Spirit, He is making me into the fruit.

Less trying.

More seeking.

More abiding.

More remaining in Him.

Watch the fruit grow!