The Tenth Fruit of the Spirit

A Devotion

By James McCurry

Christian brothers and sisters forgive me if this thesis has been written, preached and published many times. The obvious realization of the tenth Fruit of the spirit came to me in my sleep. So obvious that it only took eighty-three years of life before the awakening thought came to me. It makes one wonder why Paul did not include it in his letter to my ancestors the Galatians. For me, there have been that the tenth Fruit of the Spirit would not have been possible without Paul's nine listed Fruits of the Spirit. Can you guess what the tenth Fruit of the spirit could be? First, let us review what Paul defined as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian.

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23(ESV).

Notice that the attribute of love is first of the nine fruits. Without it, the full strength of the other attributes would be weakened. In comparison, imagine the intensity of these attribute in our Lord Jesus Christ. Over and over, Paul speaks of God's kind of love in each of his letters as he did in his first letter to the Corinthians.

"4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8(ESV)

"13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13(ESV)

Therein, all of these Christian attributes include the tenth fruit of the Spirit are greatly enhanced by an indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ. His love and the other fruitful gifts have also given me a forgiving heart. That is the tenth Fruit of the Spirit- forgiveness.

"12and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from evil.[a]

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," Matthew 6:12-14(ESV)

These words are often prayed, but not always sincere when serious transgressions have been committed against us. Murder, adultery, false witness, theft; are serious crimes that can understandably be difficult to forgive. Especially without the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. The greatest of theses is His love that has forgiven me.

Forgive and move on. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean the perpetrators should continue to be encouraged, enabled, or allowed to continue their transgressions. It also does not mean that the victim should continue to risk an association with the guilty. However, this defensive separation can be difficult when a family member is the offender. Children will suffer because of the sins of the parents. For a parent, perhaps it is an ungrateful adult child that cut most deeply into the heart of their aging parent. Truly, "the love of money is the root of all evil", while Christ's love is the root of all forgiveness.