Editorial April 28, 1923 Issue

The Fruits of the Spirit

Ella W. Hoag

WHOEVER starts out on any endeavor invariably expects fruitage to result. Indeed, without the expectation of reward of some sort, of accomplishment in some direction, no work would be worth the undertaking. Some purpose to attain must always precede effort. No one even starts to walk down a street without expecting finally to arrive somewhere. Each thought, word, or deed carries with it some intention which will bring forth fruit after its kind. When Paul tells us that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," he certainly presents a fruitage which is all good; and when he goes on to say, "Against such there is no law," he announces the absolute freedom which all men long to attain.

Ever since the days of Paul, Christians have with one voice declared that such fruits as these are alone desirable, and all have supposedly set as their Christian goal the reaping of them. How many have garnered instead but disappointed hope and sad failure! And why? Largely because they have wrongly planted. Although it has always been accepted as a truism that as men sow they reap; that if the tree is good the fruit is good; that according to the nature of the plant must be the harvest; in spite of this, Christian men and women have still been disappointed that their lives have so often resulted in such comparative barrenness when they have tried to gather the fruits of goodness.

Christian Science is awakening men to understand more fully what Jesus meant when he said, "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" They are learning slowly perhaps, but surely, that as Mrs. Eddy says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 272), "In the soil of an 'honest and good heart' the seed must be sown; else it beareth not much fruit, for the swinish element in human nature uproots it." They are learning that a pure and holy purpose alone is proper ground in which to plant any good seed; that they cannot sow material desires and reap spiritual progress. They are ceasing to expect a crop of greater spiritual usefulness when they have planted selfish intentions. They are finding, through many and varied experiences, that great care must be given to the nature of both soil and seed. These are familiar lessons; but they must be considered until perfection is attained, if the fruits of the Spirit above enumerated are to be won as the harvest.

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