Paul vs. The Galatiansনমুনা

Growing Fruit

In our yard, we have a variety of fruit-producing plants. Peaches, pears, raspberries, blueberries, and we used to have more. Our yard is a fruitful yard, and it is all the more pleasant for it. We enjoy both the produce of the yard and the aesthetic. It is a wonderful place to be.

Pleasantness comes from letting the Spirit grow fruit in our lives, too.

Perhaps we know this biblical list. Maybe it has been our “to-do” list for the past seven New Year’s Resolutions in a row. Still trying to get it right.

But this understanding of the fruit of the Spirit misses the point.

It’s the Spirit’s fruit, not ours.

If men could hustle enough to make ourselves display all those deliciously tempting characteristics, we wouldn’t need the Spirit.

Paul outlines Spirit-produced traits—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—as “fruit.”

Do these traits feel “manly?” How do they stack up to your understanding of what character traits are the best for a man to show?

As men, often defined by toughness or achievement, these traits might feel soft. Yet if we stop to think about them, these qualities radiate in the most admirable men we know.

Why?

Because the Spirit's fruit isn’t about external success—it’s about internal transformation. God changes us within, and then the outside starts to look like the inside.

When the Spirit tends to the garden of our hearts, so much life springs up that it simply shows in our lives and relationships.

A Spirit-led man cultivates peace in conflict, not dominance. He shows gentleness in correction, not harshness. He leads with faithfulness to commitments, not flexing or loophole-watching. Each trait in the list of the Spirit’s fruit challenges a caricature of masculinity. As men of God, we can defy stereotypes.

But fruit only grows when connected to the Vine (John 15:5). Staying in relationship with Christ keeps His life flowing in us.

How do we do that?

Devotional disciplines—like prayer, Scripture, and forgiveness—supply grace. Once rooted, daily challenges become opportunities to embrace Spirit fruit.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, transform me from the inside out. Grow Your love, gentleness, self-control—all of Your fruit. Today, make Your fruit evident through me. Amen.

Reflection: Which fruit of the Spirit is hardest for you to display—and how can you yield that area to God today?