The Fruits of the Spirit: How We Hang Fake Fruit from Dead Trees.

An image came to me the other day, and I felt compelled to create it as a sculpture. I don't know what I will do with this sculpture other than post images of it on this blog post eventually.

The image is a dead tree with little plastic fruit tied to it; a visual metaphor for what happens when we try to force the fruits of the Spirit.

How many times have you tried to develop "self control" over and over again and failed? Or practiced lists of kind words, or counted to ten for patience? Why does practicing the fruits of the Spirit have to be so hard? My argument is that we are focusing on the fruits and not putting enough effort into the plant: our relationship, the source of the fruit. Our ever-perfecting faith will create rough patches where our faith and human nature will combat for control, and it is our freedom from that slavery to sin that allows us to say yes to the fruits of the Spirit instead.

I think we often go about the fruits of the Spirit backwards, for these fruits are the gifts that come from a healthy relationship with God, and cannot be forced out of a life that does not reflect a true relationship. That "fruit" is ad- hoc and non-nutritious, it hurts to produce. How often do we try to be kind for kindness' sake? To choose love only to be looked at as loving: this reputation weighted guilt often takes more from the public opinion of love more than what is actually godly loving. True love is not necessarily being "nice."

If you have a hard time finding the fruits of the Spirit in your life, do not despair, and do not struggle to manifest them in your own power. Turn instead to the source of these gifts, and water your own grass, take care of the core relationship with God, ask him where you lack. Love on God, worship him, and give thanks, rest in his grace. This takes humility, and a practice all of it's own.