Special Fruit Salad

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:22-25

“Mom, can we have fruit salad for lunch?” asked Elizabeth.

“Good idea,” said Mom. “You can help me make it. We have lots of different kinds of fruit we can use today.” As they began putting the fruit together, Mom had an idea. “Maybe we can put nine different fruits in our salad and pretend we’re putting in the fruit of the Spirit,” she said. “We learned about them in church last week, remember?”

“Yeah,” said Elizabeth. “I’ll name them as we put them in.” She put orange pieces into a big bowl. “I’ll call these love,” she said. Then she opened a can and added pineapple chunks. “These will be joy. What else do we have?”

“I have some fresh peach wedges ready,” said Mom, “and here’s a cantaloupe we can cut up.”

Elizabeth put in the peaches, calling them peace. She decided on patience for the cantaloupe. “The apples will be kindness, and the pears will be goodness,” she said. “I’ll slice some bananas and call them faithfulness.”

“Okay, and you can add some of these grapes,” said Mom. Elizabeth called the grapes gentleness.

“We still need a fruit for self-control,” said Elizabeth, “but we don’t have anything else, do we?”

Mom shook her head. “No, I don’t think so,” she said, “unless…” She opened a cupboard door. “How about some raisins?”

“All right!” said Elizabeth. “Now we have something for each fruit of the Spirit.”

“Good,” said Mom, “and you did a great job remembering them. You got them all!”

At lunchtime, everyone enjoyed the salad. “Good to the last bite,” said Dad, popping the last piece of pineapple into his mouth.

“And now our fruit of the Spirit is all gone,” said Elizabeth.

“I hope not!” said Mom. “Spiritual fruit will always be a part of our lives as we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us grow in our faith and become more like Jesus.”

Dad nodded. “I pray that the fruit in our lives will show people we belong to God.” – Linda Weddle

How About You?

Can others see the fruit of the Spirit in your life? People aren’t able to see when you’ve had apples or peaches or other kinds of fruit for lunch, but the fruit of the Spirit should be visible in the life of every Christian. As you grow in your faith, are you displaying the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Ask God to let your words and actions show others you know Jesus.

Today’s Key Verse:
Galatians 5:22-23 (ERV) The fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Today’s Key Thought:

Display the fruit of the Spirit