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

A good gardener knows that the rain and the sun will ultimately accomplish more than her watering and mending ever will. She remains faithful, yet fully dependent. She doesn’t claim to create the fruit but still cares for it. 

In the same way, Paul reminds us that it is the “fruit of the Spirit,” not the “fruit of the Christian.” 

There is a difference between merely looking like a Christian and truly bearing the Fruit of the Spirit. We can put in the work, but the work doesn’t create the result; the Spirit does. 

I’ve learned far too often that attempting to be good on my own will only result in utter failure, or even worse: a perception of success that leads me further from God and deeper into pride than I could ever imagine.

This is why Jesus says that those who truly belong to Him will be known by their fruit. The fruit that’s not their own.

You see, when the fruit of Christ shows up in my life, it often surprises me. I find myself thinking, “I didn’t know I had that in me.” And the truth is, I didn’t. It’s not what is naturally in me, but who is living in me. It is evidence of the Spirit, because it is not something I could’ve produced on my own.

It is peace that surpasses understanding, that the world cannot give. A way of escape when temptation tries to overtake you. Gentleness as the exchange for harshness. Going the extra mile. Deep joy in the midst of suffering. 

The Fruit of the Spirit is one of the greatest evidences of a surrendered heart, because it shows up in the very moments where our human effort will always…always fall short. 

When all else fails, His fruit will not.