A Basket of Fruit

I've been thinking a lot about fruit lately. Probably because it's fall, and I think I've eaten more apples this year than in the last 10 years combined. And since we talked about self-control in life group last night and it is a fruit of the Spirit, I thought I'd get some of these ideas out of my head.

From Galatians, we know that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A few things happen when a tree/vine produces fruit:

• The fruit is evidence the tree is alive.
• When the tree has no fruit, no one can eat it.
• The fruit is not for the tree, but for the benefit of someone/something else. An apple on the tree doesn't do anyone any good, but once it is picked, it is good for the consumer.
• The tree has no knowledge of what happens to the fruit once it's removed. Even if the fruit falls on the ground, it nourishes the soil as it breaks down.
• The process of growing the fruit makes the tree stronger and helps it grow.
• The fruit becomes rotten if it remains on the tree too long.

I'm sure there are others, but I'm not a fruit-ologist.

So how do we relate to fruit trees?

• When we show the fruit, it's evidence that Jesus is alive in us!
• We can't give away what we don't have. Unlike trees (in this part of the world anyway), the fruit of the Spirit isn't seasonal!
• If we get all the love, joy, peace, etc from the Father, it's to benefit others. We are to share the fruit to nourish and strengthen each other!
• Sometimes, we love people, and don't receive anything back (like it just falls to the ground). But the purpose of receiving love (or any other fruit) is to give love - we can't control what anyone else does with it.
• Our love grows stronger the more we give it away.But love doesn't come easily. The process of learning to love is an amazing journey. If we don't continue to learn to love "better", our love becomes weak.
• If we keep the fruit of the Spirit locked up inside us, we can become complacent, stale, and rotten.

I have many things in drawers, closets, the basement and the garage that were gifts given to me that I will never use, but don't give or throw away because I'm afraid of hurting the giver's feelings. God is the one giver that doesn't want us to keep what he gives us to ourselves. We have been given the fruit of the Spirit as a gift - and the more we give away, the more we seem to have.

So go ahead - give away a whole basket full of fruit today. Don't worry - there's more where it came from. Besides, who wants rotten fruit in their closet?

Leftovers... Yuck!

I don't like leftovers. I don't know whether it's that I don't like to eat the same thing over and over, or that reheated food just doesn't taste like the fresh (there are a few exceptions to this rule and the leftovers are actually better - like chili), or that we used to have leftover meals where all the different types of leftovers came out of the fridge. Maybe it's all of those reasons.

I also don't like people leftovers. You know... the people who only call when there is absolutely nothing better to do and no one else to talk to. That may be an exaggeration, but sometimes it can feel that way. I think there is a balance. I don't expect to be put in first place in anyone's life. And I don't think it's wrong to give left overs from last night, if that's all there is. But sometimes, it would be nice to be invited to the party.

This happened to me recently, and it really made me take a look at the way I interact with the people I care about. Do I save the best parts of me for me and give others what's left over? Or do I spend the best of my time and energy on loving others?

Of course, we should be giving our best to God first, expecting nothing in return. Then, He replenishes our supply so we can give to others. I wish I could say I have this part down, but I don't...

I wonder how God feels about the leftovers I serve Him?