Fruit of the Spirit

We were never meant to just be okay with God, but the answer isn't trying harder to check off a list of virtues. The fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control — grows naturally and inevitably when we stay connected to Jesus, the true vine, and it reveals whether that connection is real.

Jesus, knowing His time was short, used the picture of the vine and branches to teach His disciples what it means to truly abide in Him. Abiding means offering ourselves to God, letting Him prune away what doesn't produce good fruit, and trusting Him even when that closeness draws the world's hostility rather than its approval.