The fruit of the is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22,23
In the passage from Galatians, which has become known as “The fruit of the Spirit,” we see that generosity, sharing well with others is included in the list. Naming generosity as one of the fruits of the spirit reminds us that generosity takes time to blossom and mature. If we want to harvest fruit in our lives, we need to plant the appropriate seeds, water and nurture the seeds, and then patiently wait for the tree to grow and bear fruit.
A mature spirit of generosity takes time to develop We must allow God to plant the seeds of generosity within us, and then we must continue to water and nurture those seeds until one day we will bear the fruit of generosity.
In the Gospel of Luke there is a story of Jesus healing ten lepers. All ten are healed, but only one comes back to Jesus to offer thanks. Jesus commends the one for his gratitude and says to him, “Your faith has made you well.” When we give thanks to God for the innumerable blessings that have been given to us, our faith indeed makes us well, along with others in our lives whom we touch and are touched by.
Making It Personal:
When you read the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, do you see a connection between generosity and the other fruits?
Can you think of examples of these different motivations for being generous in your own life?
