Galatians 5:22-23

Alistair Johnson considers the importance of spiritual fruit

Alistair Johnson

'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law'. Galatians 5:22-23

I have recently been reflecting a lot on this passage in my personal devotions. I feel that sometimes we look at this as the New Testament version of the Ten Commandments. A series of rules and regulations that govern the way we should live as Christians. This also coincides with an issue that many non-believers struggle with about the Church. Many say that the Church is just about rules and regulations. One of my friends recently called the Church the fun police of society.

I want to suggest however, that Paul was offering a deeper thought in calling these principles the 'fruit of the spirit'. Have you ever thought about fruit and the difference between fruit and flowers? There are some key similarities, both come from plants and are the product of healthy living things and they both have functions within society. There are some key differences though. Firstly, although flowers are incredibly beautiful, they lack the nourishment that fruit provides in our diet. Secondly, cut flowers have an incredibly short time span - after a few days they droop and die, but picked fruit, even though it goes bad, has a longer shelf life. We're aiming for long term fruitfulness, not short term beauty; fruit not flowers. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, fruits also contain seeds, which naturally produce more fruit, which produce more fruit. We are aiming for fruit and not flowers.

Fruit will only come from a plant that is healthy. Keeping a plant healthy takes work. If a plant is struggling to survive, its priorities are its leaves, stems and roots, not its fruit. Optimum growth occurs when a plant is in an environment that is conducive to growth i.e. adequate water, light, temperature. When these variables are correct, the plant will fulfil its role as a fruit bearing plant.

I would like to tell the story of Duffy Daugherty who was the head football coach of the Michigan State Spartans from 1954 to 1972. During a road game against UCLA, the score was tied at 14 with just a few seconds left. The Spartans had driven the ball into scoring range and were poised for the win.

Daugherty sent in his kicker, a guy by the name of Dave Kaiser, to make the kick and win the game. The ball was snapped and it was kicked toward the end zone, but instead of watching the ball sail through the uprights, the kicker immediately looked to the referee.
This was strange, since most kickers watch the ball, not the ref, to see if the kick is good. Anyway, the kick was good and Michigan State won the game. A little later, Coach Daugherty asked Kaiser why he didn't watch the kick. Check out the kicker's response:

"I couldn't see it. I left my contact lenses at the hotel, so I had to watch the officials to know if the kick was good or not. Coach, I couldn't even see the goalposts".

At first, Daugherty was mad. If he had known this information, he wouldn't have sent the kicker into the game. But the more he thought about it, the less angry he became. And the more impressed.

Kaiser kicked the ball perfectly because he was a supremely disciplined kicker. He knew the distance and the angle...He didn't need to see the ball. Hours and hours in practice, and careful discipline, allowed him to kick the winning field goal, even when he couldn't see the ball.

Technique and performance can only get us so far. The kicker story is amazing because it goes deeper than being about his technique and performance. For him it had become a habit and part of who he was. It is important for us to think about the fruit of the spirit not as good optional characteristics for a Christian, but instead as a way of creating innate rhythms and habits that become second nature to us and transform our views of ourselves, of others and of the world.