On the day of writing this letter I have just been out into the garden
to pick the remaining apples from our little apple tree. It is what is
known as a ‘family’ apple tree, with different varieties
grafted onto the same root stock.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit
as being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All of these qualities are
like varieties of the same fruit. They all come from the same family,
the product of the one Spirit.
Commentators suggest that the nine characteristics have been arranged
in groups of three. The first group – love, joy and peace - is
about our relationship with God. The second – patience, kindness,
generosity – is about our relationship with others. And the third
– faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – is about our
relationship with ourselves. Do you agree with the commentators? At the
head of the list stands love, from which the others flow, for without
love, all of the other characteristics are worthless.
On the apple tree, the fruit do not appear instantaneously, but are the culmination of a long period of growth, from the tiniest seed, the maturing plant and the blossoming of the season. The same is true of the fruit of the Spirit, which take shape in our lives as we continue to grow in the Christian life and as we allow the Spirit to grow in us. And just as God sends the sun (I’m sure we’ve had some sunshine at some point during the summer!) and the rain (plenty of that, this year!), and just as the tree benefits from the soil in which it stands, so we too are encouraged to grow through God’s love and grace and through the community of the church.
The days (the mornings especially) are feeling chillier now. The autumn is coming, and the summer is nearly over. But now is the time to celebrate the gathering in of the harvest. We give thanks once again to the God whose generous provision should continue to amaze us. The fruitfulness of the earth has come good once again, and there is more than enough for everyone if only we learn how to share it properly. And we praise God wherever the life of the Spirit comes to fruition in our lives, for we too are to be a part of God’s great and wonderful harvest.
Phil Drake.