Ever wonder
why faith, praise and thanksgiving are
omitted,
From fruit of
The Spirit in a believer’s life that’s submitted? 1
This is
curious, given the sheer number of references,
To these traits
-- these New Testament preferences.
The Seed that sprouts roots ‘n shoots that produce the fruit, is God’s Word.
But fruit is
not produced by a seed alone, as you’ve heard.
All seed
requires good soil into which the seed can be deposited--
Nutrients for
roots downward and shoots upward to be targeted.
Yet still, good soil alone will not guarantee seed will be fruitful.
To propel
growth, water and light are necessary, to be truthful.
Seed, soil,
light and water in balanced proportions will combine.
But let’s not
omit that one key ingredient of time.
Each of these elements has its spiritual semblance:
Seed is God’s
Word, soil is your heart. Light is His presence.
Faith enables
the soil to open, receive and incubate the Seed.
So
clearly, faith certainly can’t be a fruit, now do you see?
As with
you, praise motivates our God of Love to act favorably.
See why praise
can’t be fruit that Love produces un-measurably?
There’s only
one thing left among our elements to muse.
What is the
water that this Word-root so values?
It’s your thanksgiving,
for blessings past and yet to come,
Flowing from a
grateful heart in which Christ is very welcome.
The Spirit’s fruits are Love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness,
Gentleness, self-control, faithfulness and
goodness.
Though other character traits of Love are
permitted,
Rest assured, none of the fruits deemed critical are OMITTED.
To initiate His fruit growing process in us,
To each person, God gives a measure of His
faith, plus
Special gifts to grow The Body of Christ,
With accompanying Grace that will suffice. 2
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1 See: Galatians 5:22-23.
2 It is important to distinguish between the fruit
of The Spirit and the gifts of The Spirit. In Romans 12:3-8, Paul lists
the gifts of The Spirit as: the gift
of a measure of God’s faith (presumably
to all men, not just believers, though this is not entirely clear), plus special gifts to or giftings
within The Body of Christ, and grace to exercise these gifts: prophecy,
administration, teaching, exhorting, generosity, leadership and mercy. Finally, in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Paul also cites faith as a manifestation of The Spirit, which some may misinterpret as the
gift of faith, separate from the gift
of a measure of God’s faith.
