Fruity Gifts

what is a gift? what is fruit?
the new testament tells us both of these are from the holy spirit.
they're both great things to have.
but what's the difference?

[T]he fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

so the fruit is these things. these are not some of the fruits, nor optional extras - these are both things we see in all who are new creations in Christ. a lack then of these things must require earnest repentance - for these are the very lifeblood of our spirit-enlivened lives.

what of gifts? - 1 Corinthians 12:

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.

to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit,
to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit,
to another, faith by the same Spirit,
to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
to another, the performing of miracles,
to another, prophecy,
to another, distinguishing between spirits,
to another, different kinds of languages,
to another, interpretation of languages.
But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each one as He wills. (4,8-11)

these are then all to each individually, each being gifted for a purpose.

as a Christian then, with regards to:
Fruit --> pursue as you would a great pearl (Matthew 13:44)
Gifts --> if you've been given them, use them for the building up of God's people.

there's more to be said on this (duh) but the distinction i thought (from my pastor at St Albans) was a really helpful one.



apologies (and thanks) to those who still bother looking at this blog - been soooo busy - exams were hectic. not sure how much i'll be on here in the next whilst...