Teresa LeNeave; Leneave2@comcast.net

There is always a lot of talk about the Holy Spirit in churches. Some believe in manifested works in the body of Christ even today while others think miracles and manifestations of the Spirit were only for Bible days. That's not our topic for today. Instead let's talk about what the Holy Spirit LOOKS like.

I am somewhat of an artist so I often think in pictures. In John 15:5 (ESV) Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit".

When I think of the Holy Spirit I think of a tree with deep, healthy roots. That tree, if it is healthy and without disease, bears very distinct fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV) says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control". That tells us the Holy Spirit has distinct characteristics that can identify him working around, and in, us. If these things are not working in us then my question is, why not?

Bad fruit coming out of our life is a warning, an indicator, that warns us there is disease somewhere. There's something inside that the Holly Spirit wants to fix. When there is spiritual disease, the solution is to use the medicine that will heal it. The antidote for a diseased spiritual tree is following the word of God.

We're all there from time to time. We all bear bad fruit sometimes. We don't always live God's way. None of us do. John said in I John 1:8 (KJV), "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." And, Jesus himself said, "He who is without sin cast the first stone" (Jn 8:7-9 KJV). You will remember they all walked away from the oldest to the youngest. So, the point is, it's not that we don't sin. It's not that we always have good fruit. But it is that we always want the Holy Spirit to changes us on the inside. To bear fruit that looks like the Holy Spirit.

God wants to use us to let sinners know what the Holy Spirit looks like. He wants us to show love, joy, peace, gentleness, long-suffering. How will the world ever know unless they see Jesus in us? My prayer for myself, and all other Christians, is that we let the world see what the Holy Spirit looks like. When we travel through life, talking, living and being, I, for one, want to not worry about what the other person is doing, but what I'm doing. What kind of light are we?