I recently took a personal evangelism class. Our main assignment was to share the gospel with eight people. In three of my eight conversations, the person attributed their skepticism of the gospel to internet exchanges between Christians. One said, “You claim to be people of love and unity, but the way you treat each other on social media sends a different message.” Sadly, this statement wasn’t shocking. While there’s nothing inherently evil about the internet, we all know it’s easier to sin against someone you can’t see.

Jesus said our love would show the world we are his disciples (John 13:35). But we need God’s help to love like Christ. One way God helps us is by cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We want all our relationships, including our online interactions, to be characterized by these attributes, so TGC is excited to announce the release of Fruitful: Cultivating a Spiritual Harvest That Won’t Leave You Empty. This new devotional is designed to help us better understand the fruit of the Spirit. While writing the entries on self-control, I was encouraged by Titus 2:5 which calls us to be self-controlled, “so that the word of God may not be reviled.” As the Holy Spirit produces fruit in us, we reflect Christ more beautifully and we honor his Word.

Will you order your copy of Fruitful today and join us as we seek to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit? You can use it on your own, read it with friends as a summer study, or send a copy as a Mother’s Day gift! We pray this beautiful devotional will bear fruit and that the world will know us by our love.