We read in Ephesians 5:8–9: ‘For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)’
We read further in Galatians 5:22–23: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.’
As I read and reread these verses, I noticed that the word ‘fruit’ is singular, and I could not imagine what it was supposed to look like. Perhaps it is something like an orange, with many sections in one fruit, each section being a distinct substance. I always wanted to be a fruitful Christian. In my interactions with people, I tried to produce this fruit, but I did not understand how it was done. Then I abandoned these efforts and simply began to live. An orange tree does not need to make an effort to prove something to someone. It simply produces oranges because it is an orange tree. The distinctive feature of the fruit of the Spirit is that it ripens upon a tree bearing the common name ‘Love.’ This is one of God’s names, and without Him we can do nothing.
One winter, my wife asked me to bring her some branches from a certain tree. I did not understand what she intended to do with them. She placed the branches in water, and after a while fresh green leaves appeared upon them, followed by blossoms. It was such a joy to experience the mood of spring in winter. But later, the branches withered even though we changed their water frequently. I had so hoped that the flowers would mature and begin turning into fruit. After that, I cut branches that already had small fruit beginning to form and watched to see whether they could bear fruit in a vase. But it always ended with the branches withering and producing no fruit at all.
I also noticed that the fruit of every plant ripens at an appointed time—neither earlier nor later.
Love for one another is a tree in God’s garden, grafted into one common Root named Jesus, from Whom the plant draws all its life-giving sap so that it may develop properly. Living in Christ, we simply find one another and decide to give one another love, grafting our relationship into the True Vine. Jesus has an abundance of life-giving sap that nourishes us with its vital power and brings a special flavor and interesting experiences into our mutual love. My friend and I do not plan to produce anything for this world, but time passes and we notice an interesting fruit growing upon our tree of friendship—and then much fruit. It is so fragrant and delicious! We look at it in amazement. It seems that we are not trying to produce anything. We simply love one another from a pure heart and ask the Lord to bless this relationship. Then we rejoice that we have each other and that peace and harmony exist between us. We are in no hurry in our love and friendship. We intend to carry it throughout our entire lives and take it with us into Eternity. Such an extended period requires special longsuffering, and we possess it. We do not even worry about having to remain friends and love one another for a very long time.
Mutual goodness is also present in our relationship. From morning until evening, we think of ways to bring joy to each other in such a manner that everyone will benefit. Doing good to someone you love is not difficult at all; more precisely, it is impossible not to do it.
Mercy has so thoroughly permeated our hearts within our friendship that we are ready to live by it in our love and also to share it with everyone who desires it. How could it be otherwise? How could you fail to show mercy to someone you love? Love covers everything and finds an explanation for anything that may happen.
We believe that Jesus blesses us in our relationship because we have dedicated ourselves to Him, asked Him for this blessing, and see how He answers and nourishes us with His life-giving sap. We believe that the Lord, having begun this good work in us, will perform it until the day of His Coming. Even during the greatest trials and the great tribulation, we will continue loving one another and developing our relationship, unless circumstances separate us. And in Eternity, no one will prevent us from continuing to build our love and friendship.
Meekness is also present in our friendship. We study one another so tenderly and carefully in our search for the treasures of the soul that we are afraid of touching places damaged in former battles. Meekness in love helps us exercise restraint and sensitivity, avoid entering where we may not go, and refrain from raising subjects in conversation that cause pain and harm. We patiently wait for permission to enter one another’s lives, and we sincerely rejoice that we always prove to be needed and desired by each other. Meekness helps us exercise restraint in many matters and show forbearance toward one another’s mistakes, covering everything with mutual forgiveness and love.
Our friendship also includes temperance—abstaining from everything that could harm or destroy our relationship, while using in moderation the qualities of soul that we generously share with one another. We respect our friend’s freedom of choice and exercise of will, and we do not insist upon doing good to each other against either person’s wishes. Respect for one another is always present in our relationship, and we value it greatly.
The righteousness of Jesus covers our relationship and makes it pure and perfect. At first, we were afraid to speak to each other about our love. But then we saw that God does not forbid this, and we began practicing this manner of speech. And you know, it is possible to express love not only through actions and motives, but also through words. All of this brings mutual joy and warms our hearts. The righteousness of Christ makes our relationship holy and right. We continually compare ourselves with Him and ask, ‘Lord, is this right? Is this permitted? Is this proper?’ God’s law defines the boundaries of our happiness, within which we can develop in peace.
When we bear much fruit in love and truth, we are not under the law, but under grace. The Lord keeps us from every evil and protects our relationship from various temptations and attacks from outside.
The Holy Spirit produces within us those very transformations we need when we decide to love one another, build our future lives upon this foundation, and invite Christ into the relationship. We do not exert effort to bear the fruit of the Spirit; we simply love one another with simplicity of heart and fellowship with one another. Then we look and see such beautiful clusters growing upon the branches of our union. They delight not only us, but all our friends and acquaintances as well. They themselves recognize that we are Jesus’ disciples because we have love among ourselves.
Our friendship has a prophetic foundation and originates in God’s commandment. Christ then offers it in the message to Laodicea as gold tried in the fire—a means of leaving the lukewarm condition and enriching one’s life with new experiences and an abundance of fruit.
We do not know how to love one another or how to practice friendship properly. But once we set out upon this path, we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us this science and to work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Bible Verses for Reflection
Psalm 1:1–3; Romans 6:22; Philippians 2:13; Matthew 5:3–12; Ephesians 4:23–25; 1 Peter 1:22; Galatians 6:9–10; Proverbs 17:17; 23:23; 25:15; 27:9; John 13:34–35; 15:1–9, 26; 16:13; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:9.