On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

Here’s a brief blog series on each of the 12 days of Christmas, with Christian meanings.
 
On the ninth day of Christmas, my True Love [God] gave to me:

Nine ladies dancing

Nine Spirit Fruits
 
Galatians 5:22-23
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Faith bears fruit by the Spirit’s work in us.  God’s gift-giving doesn’t stop with the Incarnation of His Son as Jesus.  He gave Him as a gift that leads to many gifts: justified, sanctified, made like Jesus again, glorified.  Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is part of that.
 
I found it helpful when parenting young children through squabbles and spats, to stop them and simply ask, “Was that kind?”   “Was that gentle?”  We have a few targets we are aiming for, that sum up all the law.  This brings us clarity when we are confused or caught in sin.
 
Remember that fruit grows naturally from the tree.  It ought to grow naturally from the root of faith.  Not that you never have to work at it, or against sinful tendencies.  But if you find yourself constantly faking it, or ginning up the appearance of fruit, you may want to check the state of your heart.  There are seasons of pruning of course, but no fruit as a pattern means no faith.
 
When we see fruit, it is a pleasant delight and blessing, which God means it to be.  It is often easy to miss.  But the fruit of the Spirit remains a staple of spiritual life, not optional icing-on-the-cake.