Into His Image

     What to wear? What to wear? What to wear? It was one of those days when I needed to look "nice," but also be comfortable, not sure if I would be indoors, outdoors, or a lot of both. Let’s see... black capris. Black always looks "nice." And how about that bright pink t-shirt with the black lettering. Pretty and comfortable. Yep, that works. My ensemble was complete! Or was it?
     One last quick glance in the mirror and I noticed it. The t-shirt was one from a Ladies Retreat I had attended a few years ago. The theme was "Into His Image." On the front was a compact filled with "Mercy" and a "Grace"-colored lipstick. In the middle was a mirror, and inside the mirror was

"Love

Kindness

Forgiveness

Patience

Peace

Joy."

I was reminded of something I heard a teacher say once. We all have different personalities and character traits. God gives us all different talents and gifts. We all have different callings on our lives. The Bible says some are teachers, some are prophets, some are preachers, and so forth; and He gives each what he/she needs to fulfill that calling. The same with sins. What is a great sin in my life, may not be in yours. What is temptation to you, may not be for me. All these things are unique to each of us.
     But, the fruit of the Spirit IS "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." That’s singular. Does an apple tree give apples, oranges and pears? No. It gives apples. There is one fruit Christians bear, and it contains all these elements. And God gives us each the same. He is no respecter of persons, so He gives me just as much as He gives you. And God doesn’t do anything halfway. He gives us a full serving of each ingredient.  "Well God just didn’t give me patience." Yes he did. "I just don’t have it in me to forgive so&so." Yes you do. If you are a born-again Christian, God has given you everything you need to grow spiritual fruit.
     So why does one person’s fruit look different from another’s? Why do some people seem to have unending patience and peace in their life; while others appear to have no patience, but are longsuffering and forgiving? They live in different climates. Different situations require different responses. Each part of the spiritual fruit is equal, but what I use most is what you see on the outside. All the other parts are still there, just a little deeper. The more I work on them, the more they work their way out. How awesome would it be to have multicolored fruit!