My fireplace is mumbling ghost-like noises. Perhaps Casper or his meaner cousin trapped in the chimney?

A house on a hill gets wrapped in wind frequently. The molecules create noise as they move around corners and under eaves.

We innately know that wind isn’t noisy in and of itself. The leaves it passes through and eaves it rushes under provide the friction our ears hear.

We hear wind’s results as grasses bend. We see wind’s force as limbs break.

We notice wind by its outcomes. We feel it. Sense it. Get pushed by it.

Jesus’ comparison of the Holy Spirit to wind fits well with our windy experience (John 3). 

The Spirit of Jesus silently works in the hearts of people. Sometimes like a 60mph gust that picks you off your feet. Other times like a soft breeze that calms you without even realizing that’s what’s happening.

God’s Spirit flows through His Word found in the Bible. So there’s that noise, yes.

But from there, we tend not to see it until we see the impact. The results. The Bible calls that “fruit,” as in what a healthy tree would produce.

The beauty of the Holy Spirit as wind means we don’t control it or try to shape it. We simply let it blow and do what wind does. 

Anytime you tell a Bible story about Jesus you’re allowing the Holy Spirit to blow over someone’s life. To tussle their hair. Cool their face. Warm their heart.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our neighbor also needs to hear about Jesus. To have the Holy Spirit blow over his life.