S143P4 – The fruit of truth: the fruit of light

Eph. 5:6-10

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore, do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

The first leg of the brutal journey was complete.  She was hungry and thirsty when she reached the edge of the Brightfields.  Her uncle had told her of the abundant nourishment to be found there, but that land was very deceptive.  The trees of the Brightfields all bore fruit, but not all fruit gave life.  Some of the fruit brought death.  It was up to her to decide which was which, but there was only one way to know which fruit would truly satisfy her hunger and thirst.  She would have to wait until the moment the sunlight struck the fruit prefectly.  In the sunlight, the good fruit would shine while the bad fruit would disappear.  If she acted in haste, she ran the risk of eating the wrong fruit, so she had to wait.

When the bible speaks of light and darkness, we can liken it to discussions of good and evil or spirit and flesh.  The Lord is of the light, of a pure Spirit and perfectly good.  Only goodness and righteousness come out of him.  Only truth comes out of him.  It is no wonder that the fruit of light is produced by that which is true.  The fruit of light, which is the fruit of his Spirit, cannot be produced by that which is dark or deceptive.  The world can try to present us with counterfeits of this fruit, but the light of God will show us which is which.  We likewise might try to deceive ourselves into thinking that our dark fruit has come from the light, but it only takes illumination from the Lord to show us the truth of the matter.

Fruit is a natural consequence of that which is happening within us.  We always produce fruit, but the question is one of which kind.  When we are living in truth, which is living in the light of the Lord, we do not have to try to produce good fruit.  We do not need to try to be good.  We do not need to try to be kind or gentle.  If we are living in truth, then those things will come.  If we do not see the fruit of light being produced in our lives, then we must ask ourselves whether we have deceived ourselves regarding our manner of living.  Father, reveal to us any areas in which we are not living according to your truth, that we would begin to live in a manner that produces good fruit.