Fruit of the Spirit – not fruits

by Pastor Mark Lieschke

Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22,23).

Read Galatians 5:16–24

Through our baptism, the Holy Spirit has blessed us with the fruit of the Spirit. And by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, the fruit of the Spirit is displayed in our lives. We all possess the fruit of the Spirit and display its different characteristics.

We each have a different mix of those characteristics. This enables us to grow in the areas we may not be as competent in. And, as we grow into these characteristics, we can increasingly impact the lives of people around us.

Love, joy, peace: Through the expressions of love, joy and peace, we can help re-establish shalom in our world. We are given these characteristics as gifts, not for our sake, but for the sake of others.

Patience, kindness, goodness: God, through Jesus, has modelled and extended to us patience, kindness and goodness. By his grace, we can live out these characteristics, displaying them as we interact with others.

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control: How we choose to live in faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control can significantly impact how others interact with us. It will transform us, too. These characteristics allow us to be at our very best – living our lives for others.

We are gifted with the fruit of the Spirit, and these characteristics of the fruit exist in all of us. We are called to use the fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives to impact the lives of others. And God calls us to continually stay connected to him – the vine – as we grow into the fruit of the Spirit with prayer, worship and a community of faith.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for filling us with the fruit of the Spirit so that we can serve others effectively. Please help us to display this fruit in all that we do and say and grow us to become more and more reliant on you for the confidence we need to serve boldly. Amen.

Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. He served in parishes in Adelaide, Palmerston North and Marton (New Zealand), and Wagga Wagga (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the NSW District of the LCANZ. He and Meredith have four children (two live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.

• Click here to read previous devotions.
• We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
• Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.