I am unapologetically a follower of Jesus Christ, and my vocation is pastor, so this week and next, we’re going to consider what it means to serve as leaders in the fruit of the Spirit. Let me explain for those to whom the phrase “fruit of the Spirit,” is unfamiliar. Followers of Jesus have long understood that while there is one God, He expresses Himself in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. (For those who have no desire to understand anything about God in any form, please bear with me for a moment, as the fruit of the Spirit contains aspects of character and leadership that are valuable to all of us regardless of our faith background, or those who have no faith background.)
In any case, followers of Jesus belief God created us, redeemed us from sin, and sustains and empowers us in our daily lives. God the Father, is the Creator. Jesus Christ is the redeem, who lived a perfect life as a human being, in order to die on a Roman executioner’s cross to pay the penalty for human sin, and set us free to live new lives. His resurrection demonstrated that He is God. The Holy Spirit lives in those who have trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord. One of the most important aspects of the Holy Spirit’s presence is His “fruit,” or His qualities, which become part of us. The fruit is presented as nine traits in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians. They are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
As you can see, whether you are a person of faith or not, the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are traits that serve a leader well, at least if character and integrity are matters of concern, and anyone who reads this blog is most likely concerned with such matters. Through the next couple of weeks, we will consider each of the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit and what they contribute to a leader’s ability to live and lead effectively. You may wonder why we have nine traits, which though related are quite different and yet they are referred to as the fruit of the spirit and not the fruits of the Spirit.
I have no definitive answer for that consideration, but have always seen it as a matter of their being one Spirit, not many, and the facets of the fruit are given together, not individually. For example, many times over the years people have asked me to pray for God to give them patience. My response has been, “I am glad to pray for you, but wouldn’t you like to receive love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control along with patience?” They nearly always say, “Yes.” While each of us may struggle more with a need for one or two of the traits than the others, having the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives offers us all nine traits in increasing measure.
Again, if you are not a person of faith, I invite you to consider becoming one. After all, I believe Jesus desires to be God of every person, and to give us the fruit of the Spirit so we may live more meaningful lives in His name. Whether you say, “Yes,” to that invitation or not, I hope you’ll join us over the next couple of weeks as we take each facet of the fruit of the Spirit and consider how it manifests itself in our leadership, and how it makes us better and more effective leaders in every area of our lives.
I look forward to having you join us tomorrow as we consider the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit–love. Until then, here’s to leader better, by living in the fruit of the Spirit–today!