Plastic Fruit (of the Spirit)

Sometime ago while I was praying God spoke these words into my spirit; "Is the fruit plastic?" It immediately struck me as an odd question. Since then I have not been able to get those words out of my head. I can list most of the Fruits of the Spirit but I felt a calling to get deeper into the subject and to put my thoughts in writing.
So what is The Fruit of the Spirit? In Galatians 5:22 it lists the fruit of the spirit. The new King James Version lists them as, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." The King James Version lists them as, "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance". In the Message it reads like this, "But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." When we compare all of these different versions I am able to get a better idea of what each of these truly mean.

NKJV – KJV – Message
Love – Love – Affection for others
Joy – Joy – Exuberance about life
Peace – Peace – Serenity
Longsuffering – Longsuffering – A willingness to stick with things
Kindness – Gentleness – Compassion
Goodness – Goodness – A conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people
Faithfulness – Faith – Involved in loyal commitments
Gentleness – Meekness – Not needing to force our way in life
Self-control – Temperance – Able to marshal and direct our energies wisely

So now that we know what they are, now we need to figure out why we need them. Matthew 12:33 says, "a tree is known by it fruits." (NKJV) We are all baring either good fruit or bad fruit. Matthew also says that a good tree can't bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. So one way or another your fruit speaks about who you are and what your heart is really like. This is where the "plastic" fruit comes in to play.

Everyone has seen the beautifully created plastic fruit at the home décor stores. Although it is beautifully made, if you look at it close enough, or touch it, or maybe even smell it, you can instantly tell the difference. Let's examine the differences between real fruit and plastic fruit.

First, there is the outward appearance. Some of these plastic fruits are created and crafted so well that you can't tell them from real fruit at a distance. Sometimes you even have to touch them to see if they are real or not. How does speak on a spiritual level? Lets talk about joy. You can have joy in a group of people while you are all having fun, but what are feeling when you are alone? Real joy is lasting, it doesn't leave when people leave. Showing joy in front of people just so they won't know your real hurts is putting out the plastic fruit of joy. Fruit that is portrayed just so others will see it is plastic fruit. Let me give you another example. Showing up at an outreach just so other people will see and think better of you is also putting out plastic fruit.

The major differences are seen when the two are cut open. When real fruit is cut open you see the "meat" of the fruit, and usually the seeds. There is substance and nutrients in real fruit. These things may help our muscles develop or help us see better, but they all produce good things in our bodies. Seeds are always present in real fruit. One major purpose for real fruit is for that fruit to reproduce another fruit. In some cases, this is called the heart of the fruit. When you cut open a plastic fruit you usually just get stinky, stagnant air, or you may just get more plastic or styrofoam. This is harmful to ingest, it may even poison the body. Therefore we can say that there is no "heart" in plastic fruit.

Lastly, there is a huge difference in the purposes of displaying plastic fruit and setting out real fruit. Plastic fruit is placed out as a decoration so that someone will see them. This brings glory to the decorator. Real fruit is set out to be eaten and enjoyed. This brings nutrients and good things to those who partake. There is a level of commitment that it takes to replace that fruit everyday. Plastic fruit can be put out once and it lasts forever.

Real fruit is grown in secret everyday growing a little more. It needs sunshine, rain, and sometimes a little manure or fertilizer. Real fruit may take longer to produce, but the outcome is so much more beautiful than plastic fruit.
Everyone around you can see your fruit. Make sure that they can partake of the Real Fruit of the Spirit and not some empty fake. Our fruit is supposed to bring good to others not glory to ourselves. Also, make sure that the fruit that is seen is fresh. Don't display an act of compassion that is years old. Renew your fruit everyday.

As a little sidenote I want to show you this little nugget:
In The Message after it lists the fruits of the spirit it says this: "Legalism is helpless in bringing this about, it only gets in the way." (Galations 5:23-24)