Fruit of the Spirit

I was pondering this morning and thinking about how faithful, loving and merciful God truly is. Many of us take our life for granted, and don't stop to really think about God's grace... He is the only One I know that exemplfies Fruit of the Spirit. Gal.5:22a "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness,and self-control..." This is what Christ is... This is what we should be...It takes years of practice to get there, some of us might not have it all, but the important part is that we are striving to become one fruit of the spirit. Paul writes about having a perfect heart. This is what he is talking about. We can't be perfect in the true sense of the word, like God is perfect. But it is our striving to be perfect that bring us closer to being like Christ.

My grandmother used to make this fruit salad I have named Heavenly Fruit Salad. It is the perfect combination of fruits and nuts, that makes you want to eat the whole bowl. When I became an adult, I asked Grandma how she made the fruit salad. Here is what she told me, " I put a little of bananas, a couple of kinds of apples, some pineapples, oranges, mandrine oranges, two kinds of grapes, and pecans and sprinkle a little bit of lemon on to keep the fruit from turning." The thing is, she never told me how much of each item she used... a little of this and a little of that, wasn't quite the directions I needed. (especially since I'm culinary challenged). So I started trying to make it with a little of this and a little of that, but it just didn't quite taste right. You see, if I didn't have enough of one item, it didn't have the right taste to my palate. Leaving out an item, of course, gave it a different taste too...It took me several years to finally get it right. When I got it right, it was heavenly! Thus the name....

You see the fruit of the spirit is the same, we know what the ingredients are, it is learning how much of each we need to balance out our life. So when things upset you, or you are discouraged, think about how much God has to put up with from all of us and His mercy he bestows on us. Strive to become more of the Fruit of the Spirit. Work on how much of each ingredient you need, and remember when you leave one out, or have more than you should of another, you lose your balance...

Heavenly Fruit Salad
2apples - 1 delicious apple cut into small pieces,1 granny smith apple cut into small pieces,
1 large bananna divide into lengthwise and cut thin slices,
2lg. orange cut into small bite sizes
1 small bunch of red seedless grapes quartered,
1small bunch green seedless grapes quartered,
1 small can(drained) of mandrine oranges,
1 can (drained)of cubed pineapples,
1 cup chopped pecans,
Mix all ingredients, and add 1 squeezed lemon, or 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
The combination of the fruits, to me, the best taste this side of heaven.

After sharing this recipe, I just want you to know my point is even if you make this with the ingredients listed above, it is up to you to make it your own so it taste heavenly. See Grandma just gave me the ingredients, not the amounts, I had to make it to taste as close as I could to what I knew hers tasted like. Just like in God's word, there are no amounts of Fruit of the Spirit, because each of us are made differently, so it is up to us to ask for God's guidance so we are more like Him.