Our time together is precious to me—thank you for being part of this journey. Today, we finish reading Galatians 4–6.
A Lesson from the Orchard
One summer, I was living in Phoenix with my sister and her husband. I wanted to buy the guitar I had seen at the mall where they worked. The fastest way to earn that money was picking citrus fruit in the orchards. They paid at the end of each day—because few people returned for another day.
This was the hardest labor I had ever done. Regardless of how full your bag was, you had to climb to the top of the ladder and start looking for fruit without blemish. Initially, the process is easy; you only have an empty bag. But then you get to the bottom with sixty pounds of oranges, you carry that bag back up and start again.
I got my guitar, but it’s not work I would ever want to do again.
Paul’s Illness and Our Own
In Galatians 4:13, Paul writes: “It was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you” (NIV). We don’t know what that illness was, but Galatians 4:15 suggests it involved his eyesight: “You would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.” And later, Paul notes: “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand” (Galatians 6:11).
We all have an illness we call sin.
Inspecting the Fruit
When I work with children in our AWANA ministry, we teach them to memorize Galatians 5:22–23:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (NIV).
We train them to be “fruit inspectors.” But then I look in the mirror and remember: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked” (Galatians 6:7).
As we mature, we learn to show outward signs of fruit—smiling, speaking of love, acting kind. But inside, we may seethe with contempt when we see people flaunting sin. Our hearts should break for them, but instead we revile them.
The Hidden Battle
Before we can produce honest fruit, the Spirit must rule inside us. Paul gives us a list of works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21): sexual immorality, idolatry, drunkenness, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, factions—and then the haunting words: “and the like.”
We hide impure thoughts and lust. We tamp down rage and envy, but they remain. Outwardly, people think we’re righteous. But Paul warns: these sins hinder real fruit. Until we surrender them, all else is just a show.
Carrying the Bag
It’s hard to fix everything at once. So I pray: “Lord, show me what to work on first.” He points to jealousy. Later, factions. It’s like carrying that heavy bag of oranges back up the ladder. Spiritual work is hard—but the Spirit will carry the weight if we let Him (Galatians 5:25).
Practical Takeaway
Pray and ask the Lord to reveal what’s blocking the fruit in your life. Then prepare for the hardest work you’ll ever do—because it’s not just about outward fruit, but inward transformation.
Tomorrow, we will read Ephesians 1-3.