Read: Galatians 5:22-25

The pocket of Octavia’s red sweater bulged. She didn’t want Miss Allen to notice, so she quickly slipped into her seat. She removed a big orange from her pocket and hid it behind the box of crayons in her desk.

The morning dragged by. Usually Octavia liked reading class, but not today. She couldn’t keep her mind on the story. A classmate—Ford—had agreed to give the signal for the special activity the kids had planned. He said they should wait until math time and be ready when Miss Allen turned to the whiteboard.

Excitement built up when Miss Allen told the class to take out their math books. Everyone kept looking at Ford. When he put his hand in his desk, Octavia covered her mouth. She didn’t want Miss Allen to see that she was giggling. She reached inside her desk and took hold of the orange.

At last Miss Allen turned her back to the class. Octavia drew a deep breath as Ford yelled, “Fruit roll!” In a flash, Octavia’s orange rolled down the aisle with lots of other fruit. The room became noisy, and Miss Allen looked puzzled. “It’s for you,” Ford said, pointing to the fruit. “For your birthday!”

“For me?” Miss Allen asked in surprise. “How thoughtful of you! Thanks, kids.”

That afternoon Octavia told her mom all about it. “Miss Allen said she’d never heard of a fruit roll, but she liked it! She got oranges, grapefruit, some tangerines, a few lemons, and even a lime.”

“I knew she’d enjoy it.” Mom smiled at Octavia. “What about you? Have you gotten any fruit rolled to you lately?”

Octavia gave her mom a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean the fruit of the Spirit,” Mom said. “Once you trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in your life—the qualities of the new person He wants you to be. It’s quite a list. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—all these make you more like Jesus.”

Octavia thought about it. “I guess He is helping me be more patient—and helping me be kind to kids at school I don’t know well.” She smiled. “It’s like I’m getting a fruit roll from Jesus every day!”

–Margaret M. Primrose

How about you? Did you know that, if you’re a Christian, you’re getting a fruit roll from Jesus every day? He helps you develop the qualities that make you more like Him. As you grow as a Christian, others will start to see more and more of these qualities in your life. Trust Jesus to help you grow and fill you with the fruit of the Spirit so you become more like Him.

Today's Key Verse: May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:11 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: God fills your life with fruit