Cultivating Fruit Eternal

It is a beautiful, warm day. Spring is here and it is beginning to be the time that people start preparations for planting their garden. Every year I receive through the mail, seed catalogs. I just love going through them and dreaming about what I might plant, or cultivate. Recently I was reading this verse " ...Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." Psalm 37:3. Later that same day I was reading a devotion by Randy Alcorn. The title was "Cultivating Christlikeness". Wow Lord, I guess my word from you today is "Cultivate"! This scripture also tells us what we should be cultivating in our lives. " For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ..." II Peter 1: 5-8 These are all things that are building on one another. Like seeds that are planted in soil, watered, and fertilized. But down at the very base is Love. How is your garden growing in these areas? Are we planting faith, watering it with knowledge? Fertilizing it with godliness? I have decided that I can't plant much in my back yard without the rabbits, and deer feasting on it, but I can plant these eternal seeds mentioned in these verses. God is the one who has called us, and by His strength and power and glory and goodness we can plant, and "cultivate" these character qualities in our lives. Even in terrible difficulties, and hardships, even when we don't see the sun shining, and we may be experiencing a severe drought in our lives, we know that He is at work to make us productive and to produce fruit that will never wither, or decay, the fruit of the Spirit. That is the best kind of fruit, fruit eternal!