Ornamental Fruit (Part 2)

"This has been quite a fruitful day, don't you think?" said Grandpa with a wink as they finished dinner at the close of James's first day in Arizona. James grinned. He and Grandpa had taken a trip to an orange grove, and they had come back with lots of delicious oranges."Since our minds are already on fruit, let's take a look at the fruit of the Spirit for devotions tonight--the spiritual qualities that come from knowing Jesus and having His Spirit in our hearts," said Grandpa. Opening his Bible, he leafed through the pages until he found the passage he was looking for. He handed the Bible to James and pointed to the verses he wanted read."The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control," James read. He looked at his grandparents. "That seems like a lot of fruit for one person!" "Don't let the list scare you," said Grandpa. "All of us who trust in Jesus have this fruit in our lives, but sometimes we need to be reminded of that. Why don't we all think about the fruit listed in the passage and each pick out one we especially need to trust God to help us with?""Okay." James studied the list. "Mom is always telling me I need to be more patient," he said after a moment. "And I need to depend on God to help me feel His peace in my life," said Grandma. "I tend to worry--like when you were a little late getting back from the orange grove today.""And I need help with self-control," said Grandpa. "Now and then, I still get angry for silly reasons and need to remember that the Holy Spirit gives me the power to control my anger." He closed the Bible. "Let's pray for one another and trust God to display His fruit in our lives. And maybe before you go back home, we can talk about this again and see how God is working in us, okay?" James nodded. "Okay then," said Grandma. "Now, who wants some oranges for dessert?" "Me!" said James and Grandpa in unison.–Esther M. Bailey