When we think of the word “success,” we usually think of it in a materialistic sense. Success from the world’s point of view is money, houses, cars, investments, jewelry; all things that add up to our net worth. However, when we think of the word from a spiritual point of view, it means something entirely different.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Gal. 5:3  This is a completely different interpretation of success. If we are the Lord’s, our lives are supposed to produce a kind of spiritual fruit that can be seen and experienced by those we come in contact with. Our fruit should affect the world around us in a positive way; it will be a natural outgrowth of the way we live our lives.

As fruit inspectors of our own lives, we see areas where we have grown and areas that are in need of some work. In order to grow spiritually, we must cultivate those things that will help us develop in the right direction. Spending time with other believers in church and listening to sermons is helpful, but there are a few other things that will definitely help us grow strong and mature in a healthy way. 

When we let our roots go deep into God’s Word and spend time in His Presence, we are able to soak up the nourishment we need in order to produce an abundant harvest. Unfortunately, the things we need most are the hardest to come by. Finding quiet time in such a noisy world is difficult to say the least. Difficult yes, but not impossible to do if we are creative and intentional.

When we shuffle off this mortal coil, and we all will one day, we want to have been a success. We want our family and friends to have partaken of the fruit of our lives and to savor its flavor when we are gone. We also want The Ultimate Fruit Inspector to see that we took advantage of the things He made available for us to grow and produce an abundant harvest during our sojourn here. 

Image by Lunix2004. Courtesy of Pixabay