Galatians 5:22-23 reads, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." This passage is a letter from Paul to the Galatians in which he lists nine attributes of a Christian life. I don't know about you, but when I was a wee Sunday school student, I'm pretty sure I associated these qualities with the fruit I ate everyday. As a tribute to childhood imagination ... what if? What if the fruit(s) of the Spirit were actual fruits? With little scientific backing, I came up with the matches that I think make the most sense.
Love, if it was a fruit, would be a strawberry — and not just because the color red is typically associated with love. Strawberries always grow in little bunches; togetherness is essential for them. The agricultural practice of companion planting — the close planting of different plants that enhance each other's growth or protect each other from pests — is common with strawberries. Their companion plants include borage (a.k.a starflower), bush beans, and caraway. Contrastingly, strawberries and cabbage will get into a turf war if planted near one another. At the end of the day, don't we all just want someone to be the borage to our strawberry?
Joy, in fruit form, is a watermelon. Picture this: it's a hot summer day and you are lounging by the pool while your existing/future kids are splashing and swimming around. They get out of the pool to have a snack, so you wrap them up in a towel and give them big, fresh slices of watermelon. The stickiness is no problem, because they're just going to jump back into the water anyway. Personally, that scene screams joy to me. God calls us to have joyful hearts. I like to think He wants us to overflow with joy like a watermelon overflows with juiciness, without letting the stickiness of life get in the way.
Peace is equivalent to a cherry, because it's a proven fact ( according to the internet ) that cherries help calm your nervous system. They are rich in two important flavonoids that act as antioxidants and work to eliminate byproducts of oxidative stress. They supposedly also help you sleep, and sleep is just about the most peaceful activity I can think of.
Patience shows up as a pomegranate for the simple reason that pomegranates take forever to eat. YouTube has a plethora of instructional how-to videos because it really is that complicated. Pomegranates require patience.
Kindness is a coconut. This tropical fruit is über functional. Coconuts can be used as cups, bikini tops, musical instruments, etc. Don't even get me started on the uses for coconut oil. Kindness is just as functional; it can be used always in all ways.
Goodness would be none other than an orange. Oranges are filled with goodness known as vitamin C. That's all I got.
Faithfulness is represented by an apple. You know the old adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Oh and also, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Why would apples be so prominent in idiomatic phrases if they weren't reliable, hmmm?
Gentleness as a fruit would be a banana. They don't come with a sticker, but there is an understood "handle with care" caution attached to the bunch because of how easily they bruise.
Self-control is sometimes hard to come by (thanks, human nature) ... exotic, if you will. You know what else is hard to come by? Starfruit. It's just not your staple kitchen fruit. That doesn't make it any less valuable than the rest of 'nature's candy.'
Just like a multitude a fruits constitute a fruit salad, we should exhibit these nine attributes in our daily lives to constitute a Christ-like life. Takeaway: be a fruit salad.
