John Edgell

Acceptable Fruit John Edgell

Acceptable Fruit is an anthology of eleven captivating short fantasy stories that encapsulate aspects of the fruit the Holy Spirit that God desires to grow in our lives. Nine aspects are found in Galatians 5:22, 23, where we read, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." And as verse 25 points out, we are to live out these character traits in our daily walk: "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." I have added a story about courage, for although courage is not listed in this passage of Scripture, in many situations it takes great courage to manifest the Spirit's fruit. I have also added a story about wisdom, for the Spirit embodies wisdom, and the manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit are wisdom in action. My intent is to have each fantasy story encapsulate some element of a particular expression of the fruit of the Spirit. However, they do not by any means say everything that might be said. That is beyond what an individual story can accomplish. The stories "reveal in part" not in whole. Further, as you read a particular story, say the story about joy, you might find yourself saying, "But this story is about love." That is because a given manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit does not stand alone. They are by nature interdependent. The name I use for God in these stories is Elone. El is an ancient name for God, and since God is one in nature I use the name the name El-one, pronounced with a long e - E-lone. Why emphasize that God is one? The reason for that emphasis is that there is a trinity of persons within the individual essence of the One God. However, these stories do not call attention to the trinity as such-that is not their purpose. Acceptable Fruit is an engaging Realms of Light Book, an interesting assortment of fun fantasy stories the whole family will enjoy. While the stories in this series will entertain you, they will also stimulate heart and mind.