I Want Strawberries
Martha is Kids Pastor at Gas Street
Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)—
‘But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.’
We recently looked at the fruit of the Spirit in GS Kids on Sundays and for the first week we did a lot of activities about fruit. We talked about our favourite fruit, we tried different fruit and we drew pictures of fruit. I gave a (reasonable) introduction to the fruit of the Spirit using Galatians 5, and we ended with a prayer activity where we each said which fruit of the Spirit we needed this week. At this point one of our five-year-olds confidently announced to the group that he wanted strawberries. It was then that I realised that perhaps the link between actual fruit and the fruit of the Spirit was a little abstract for five- year-olds.
This week’s devotionals will be focusing on the fruit of the Spirit, and my hope is that we gain an understanding beyond strawberries.
The thing about the fruit of the Spirit is that, like all good things of God, the concept is both beautifully simple and beautifully complex. The fruit of the Spirit is simply what grows in us when we are filled with the Spirit. But it is also life-changing, world-shaping and kingdom-bringing.
Today, I begin with the same question I asked our five-year-olds: which individual fruit of the Spirit do you really need this week? Do you need patience and peace in the midst of conflict? Is it about bringing joy to despair, or faithfulness and self-control even when it’s easier to give up and give in? Or is it about choosing love, kindness, goodness and gentleness in the face of brokenness? Whichever one, or two, or nine, of the fruit of the Spirit you need the most, invite him to fill you and do what only he can do in and through you.
Prayer— Jesus, fill me with your Spirit and produce in me your fruit. Help me to grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control this week.
