Can You See the Spirit? Look at the Fruit
Month 4: Walking in the Spirit · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 7:16-20
16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Memory Verse
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”— Galatians 5:22-23 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Samuel 25–27
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 107 of 365 — David spares Saul and learns to wait on God.)The Heart of It
Someone might ask, "If I can't see the Holy Spirit, how do I know He's real?" Jesus gives a wonderfully simple answer: look at the fruit. "You will know them by their fruits" (). You can't see the wind, but you can see the branches bend. You can't see the Spirit, but you can absolutely see what He produces. A once-angry person grows patient. A selfish heart turns generous. A fearful kid becomes brave for Jesus. The roots are invisible, but the fruit you can see.
Jesus also warns that good trees and bad trees are known the same way. We know them by what they produce over time. A plastic apple can fool you for a minute. But it never grows, it never feeds anyone, and it never multiplies. Real fruit comes from real life inside. This is how we test things, kindly but honestly. Not by how exciting or impressive someone seems, but by the steady fruit of the Spirit growing in their life. Character is the evidence. So when our children wonder whether the Spirit is real, we can say, "Watch what God grows in people who love Jesus. That's Him, working where you can't see."
Around the Table
We can't see the wind, but we can see the trees wave! We can't see the Spirit, but we can see Him make people kind.
Let's do it: Blow on a paper leaf and watch it move — "That's like the Spirit; we see what He does!"
A fake plastic apple looks real but never grows. Real fruit means there's real life inside.
Let's talk: What's some "fruit" you've seen God grow in someone you know?
Jesus says we test things by fruit over time, not by how flashy they look. Steady character is stronger evidence than one big moment.
Let's go deeper: Why is it safer to judge by long-term fruit than by impressive feelings or one exciting event?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's something invisible that you know is real because of what it does? Think of wind, or gravity, or love. How is the Holy Spirit a little like that?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "You can't prove the Holy Spirit is real — I can't see Him," you can answer kindly: "You're right that He's invisible. But lots of real things are, like the wind or gravity. Jesus said we'd recognize the Spirit by His fruit (). Watch a person who truly follows Jesus over years. You'll see real love, joy, and self-control that don't fade under pressure. That changed life is evidence you can see." Give the reason with gentleness and respect ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
The "fruit test" is a quiet but powerful tool for discernment, and our Pentecostal heritage needs it badly. In a movement that rightly celebrates the Spirit's power and gifts, the temptation is always to measure spirituality by the dramatic. But Jesus didn't say "you'll know them by their gifts" or "by their crowds." He said "by their fruits." Teach your kids early to be unimpressed by hype and deeply impressed by Christlike character. This protects them their whole lives from manipulative leaders, from prosperity nonsense, and from chasing experience over obedience. The most Spirit-filled person in any room is usually the most loving, patient, and humble. Not the loudest.
Draws on: Natasha Crain, Talking with Your Kids about God.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You. We can't see Your Spirit, but we can see what He does. Grow real fruit in us, so people can see that You are real. In Jesus' name, amen."
I can't see the Spirit. But I can see what He grows, and that's how I know He's real.