As we return to the Fruit of the Spirit today, we’ll take time to look a little deeper at each of the Fruit. We’ll do what a pastor of mine used to call a “fruit inspection.” What do each of the fruit mean? What can we learn from them? How can we grow these fruit in our very lives?  Today, we’ll look at love, joy, and patience.  What are these fruit truly about? 

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Good morning. It’s good to be with you today as we continue our journey through Galatians. Yesterday, we took a detour for Ash Wednesday, reflecting on its meaning and importance. Today, we’re resuming our study by diving deeper into the fruit of the Spirit.

I anticipate this taking about two days, but we’ll see where it leads. I want us to take our time, looking at each fruit of the Spirit individually and reflecting on why they matter in our spiritual lives.

Let’s begin by reading Galatians 5:22-26.

Paul makes a clear distinction between the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are unique to each believer—God gives different gifts to different people to serve the Church (1 Corinthians 12). Some may have the gift of teaching, others of prophecy, healing, or leadership. But not every believer has the same gift.

The fruit of the Spirit, however, is meant to be universal. Paul doesn’t say, “Some of you will have love, others will have patience.” Instead, all believers should be growing in all of these areas. These aren’t individual traits we pick and choose; they are evidence of the Spirit’s work in us.

Paul also contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. Just as our sinful nature naturally produces sin, the Spirit within us produces godly fruit. Whatever we feed will grow—if we live by the flesh, we will produce sin. But if we live by the Spirit, the Spirit will produce His fruit in us.

Let’s take a closer look at the first three:

Love – Love is the foundation of the Christian life. It is both a gift and a command. Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is to love God and love our neighbor. Where love is, God is.

This kind of love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a choice, an action. Biblical love is self-sacrificing, always seeking the good of others. It’s easy to love people who love us back, but the real test is whether we love those who are difficult, those who oppose us, even our enemies.

Does your life reflect God’s love? Do you desire good for others, even those who frustrate you?

Joy – Joy is different from happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances—good things happen, we feel happy; bad things happen, we feel sad. But joy is deeper than that.

Joy is the deep, unshakable confidence that God is in control and that everything will ultimately be okay. It’s the peace of knowing that even in trials, God is still good.

No matter what happens in life—sickness, loss, hardships—we can have joy because we trust God’s plan. We may not always be happy, but we can still have joy.

Patience – We live in an anxious world. Patience seems hard to come by. But true patience comes from trusting in God’s sovereignty.

When we understand that God is in control, we don’t have to be ruled by fear. We don’t have to live in anxiety over what’s happening around us. Philippians 4:7 tells us that God’s peace “surpasses all understanding”—meaning we can have peace even when our circumstances don’t make sense.

Are you letting the worries of life steal your peace? Are you trusting that God is working all things for good?

Tomorrow, we’ll continue with patience, kindness, and generosity.

I encourage you today to reflect on these first three. Where do you see them growing in your life? Where do you need God to cultivate them more?

Thanks for spending this time with me. I look forward to continuing our study tomorrow. Have a great day!