DEEP ROOTS, GOOD FRUIT:
Seeing the Fruit of the Spirit through
Story & Scripture
By Kristin Elizabeth Couch
The Good Book Co. 160 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 802 541 090
As believers who want to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, reading this book could be a great encouragement. Each chapter looks at a different fruit of the Spirit, with questions at the end to apply the themes further.
The writer considers each fruit of the Spirit by including an example of a person she has known who has exuded it. The extended narrative of them, written in a storylike manner, gives the reader a more well-rounded picture of what the fruit looks like: the reader can see the Spirit’s outworking in an individual’s life, particularly in the face of challenging situations (such as a father trapped in a snowstorm or a child disabled by an accident).
However, the writer does not stop with these individual stories, but grounds clearly in Scripture what each fruit of the Spirit is. Whenever the reader may be tempted to despair that they could never live like this, the writer is abundantly clear that the person has not created these characteristics themselves, by their own hard work; rather it is in the work of the Spirit in them. Further, the writer explains how it is God Himself who shows each characteristic perfectly, and as the Spirit works in us and these fruit grow, so we reflect God. The book has an accessible, fresh, conversational style, repeatedly pointing to the beauty of the Bible passages and the different fruit of the Spirit, showing that living like this is a desirable way of life. It is also clearly seen that growing in each of these fruit will mean the putting to death of opposing characteristics, be it grumpiness, sulking or anxiety. The book therefore applies in a very meaningful way to everyday life for any reader.
Whilst not a technical commentary on the fruit of the Spirit (and sometimes having a somewhat American tinge to the illustrations), this book’s grounding in the word of God would be worthwhile for any who prayerfully read it, that they might have deeper roots into Scripture and bear good fruit in their own life.
