Rise Up: Free, Fresh, and Fruity

The Christian life is not meant to be lived in striving, exhaustion, or constant lack. It is meant to be marked by freedom, abundance, and fruitfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

All too often, we talk about the gifts of the Spirit—prophecy, tongues, healing, and miracles—while neglecting the fruit of the Spirit. Yet Scripture reminds us that the fruit is the evidence of a Spirit-filled life. As Natalie Runyon once said, “The world doesn’t care if you speak in tongues when you’re unkind in English.”

The fruit of the Spirit is not optional extra for Christians; it is fundamental to what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Paul writes in Galatians 5:22–23:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

These are not self-manufactured traits or personality quirks. They are supernatural evidence that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our lives. They are what make us different in a world that is often hateful, anxious, intolerant, and self-serving.

• In an ever more hateful world—love wins hearts.
• In a depressed world—joy becomes strength.
• In an anxious world—peace is the deepest cry.
• In an intolerant world—patience changes relationships.
• In a nasty world—kindness is radical.
• In an evil world—goodness shines like light in the dark.
• In a reckless world—self-control stands firm.

The world is desperate for Christians who are not only Spirit-filled but Spirit-fruitful. And here’s the good news: this fruit is not something we manufacture by working harder or trying to be better. It is something God grows in us as we live by His Spirit.

Let’s look at three key truths that help us understand how to live free, fresh, and fruity lives.

1. Free to Bear

We are free to bear fruit—not striving for it.

Our culture tells us that everything must be earned. Success, happiness, peace—all of it is presented as something you must fight, grab, or hustle for. But the kingdom of God flips this on its head.

God freely gives His Spirit.
God freely gives His gifts.
God freely grows His fruit in us.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all gifts to us through the Spirit. That doesn’t mean they are always easy to choose, but it does mean they are always available.

Even in the darkest moments of trauma or chaos, the Spirit makes fruit available that is beyond our own capacity. Somehow we can walk in peace when the world says we should be in panic. Somehow we can choose joy when circumstances are bleak. Somehow we can love when we should hate.

Paul reminds us in Galatians 5 that we are called to freedom—but freedom requires a choice. Do we use our freedom to serve ourselves, or do we use it to serve others in love? The Spirit sets us free, but then asks us to walk in step with Him. Without the Spirit, we slip back into slavery to sin. With the Spirit, we walk in freedom and bear His fruit.

2. Called to Bear Much

We are called to bear much fruit—not live in lack.

Too many Christians live as if they are spiritually impoverished—lacking joy, lacking peace, lacking patience, lacking goodness. But the truth is that in Christ there is no spiritual poverty. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. The same Spirit who empowered the disciples at Pentecost empowers us today.

We are not called to scrape by spiritually. We are called to live in abundance and overflow. Jesus said in John 15:5:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Notice His words: not some fruit, not occasional fruit, but much fruit.

This isn’t prosperity gospel—it’s kingdom reality. It means that joy, peace, and goodness are not rare luxuries for Christians, but daily resources available by the Spirit. It means that when the world is drowning in anxiety, we can overflow with peace. When the world is drained by despair, we can overflow with hope.

Romans 15:13 puts it this way:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Where there is lack in your life, the Spirit wants to bring abundance. Where there is emptiness, He wants to bring overflow.

3. Planted to Produce

Fresh fruit only grows when we are planted.

We cannot bear fruit if we are not rooted. Just like a tree, where we plant ourselves determines what we produce. A life planted in shallow, unhealthy, or neglected soil will only produce weeds. But a life planted in healthy, Spirit-led soil will flourish and multiply.

Psalm 92:13 says:

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.”

Fruit is produced when we are planted in:

• The Word of God
• The house of God
• The mission of God

It is produced when we resist the temptation to uproot every time life gets difficult or inconvenient. Fruit grows when we stay faithful, when we endure, when we serve, when we give, when we love, and when we keep showing up.

Leonard Ravenhill once said: “A fruitless Christian is a contradiction. If Christ is in you, fruit will follow.”

The question is: where are you planted? On what foundation are you building your life? Because where you are planted will always determine what you produce.

Living Free, Fresh, and Fruity

The Spirit of God calls us to rise up in freedom, to live in overflow, and to bear fruit that remains. Not striving, not scraping by, not surviving on spiritual scraps—but walking in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The world is watching. And when the world sees the fresh fruit of the Spirit alive in us, it will not be able to resist wanting what only Christ can give.

It’s time to rise up—free, fresh, and fruity.

Reflection Questions

1. Which fruit of the Spirit is most evident in your life right now, and which one do you sense God wants to grow in you more deeply?
2. Are you living from a place of striving or from a place of freedom in Christ?
3. Where in your life do you see lack, and how might the Spirit want to bring abundance and overflow?
4. Where are you planted—what environments, habits, or communities are shaping your spiritual growth?
5. How could you intentionally choose to display the fruit of the Spirit in a specific relationship, workplace, or challenge this week?