Bearing Fruit
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Christians are called to bear fruit. This is not an easy task. Think about fruit in a grocery store; it is either green, ripe and good, or rotten. When we want fruit, we want the fruit that is ripe and good.
So how can we bear fruit as Christians that is ripe and good? For that matter, what is the fruit that Christians are even supposed to produce? According to our culture “good” and “desirable” fruit are things like money, power, acceptance, and beauty. But NONE of those are fruits that God asks us to bear. Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control….” THESE are the fruits that God asks his children to bear. Wow. That is hard. How in the world are we supposed to bear THAT kind of fruit? God does not leave his children alone. Remember verse 5: “apart from me you can do NOTHING”.
Think about grape vines. If part of a vine is dead, will it give you any grapes? John 15:1 says that I am the TRUE vine. Jesus is our true vine; we need him to bear fruit.
In today’s passage the word ABIDE is used 4 times. Abide means to continue in a place. In verse 5, Jesus says that the person who bears fruit is the one who abides in him, and he in them. THAT is how you bear the right kind of fruit. What does it mean to abide in Jesus?
Think about children. Often they grow up to be a lot like their parents by spending years watching and learning from them. Christians are growing up to be like Christ. Abiding in him includes trusting him, reading his word, listening to teaching about him in church, and spending time with other Christians. Every day we need to remind ourselves that he is our Lord and Savior.
As we abide in Him, we will start to bear fruit. Will we be perfect? No. We sin each and every day; that sin keeps us from bearing fruit. But we have a wonderful Savior. He forgives our sins, and helps us to repent and get rid of sin. In verse 2 he says that he will prune each branch not bearing fruit so the rest of the vine can bear more fruit. Just like a fruit tree.
What kind of fruit are you bearing today?