Much Fruit

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
John 15:5, 8 NLT

It sounds so simple. We only have to stay wired into Jesus, remaining in Him, and He will remain in us. The problem is that we are human, and behave in ways that are not always Jesus-friendly. Paul wrote about this dilemma in Romans 7:21-23, where he wrote, “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me”. He then went on to write in the following verse, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” But then we have the climax in Romans 7:25-8:2, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death“.

It is because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we are able to remain in Jesus, and have the potential to “produce much fruit”. But what is the fruit referred to by Jesus? We must turn to Galatians 5:22-23 to find out, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”‭‭ We notice that Paul referred to fruit, not fruits. We have one fruit with nine flavours, and the Holy Spirit grows each within us, in every passing day. 

Jesus also taught about fruit in His Sermon on the Mount, as we can read what He said in Matthew 7:15-20. He finished by saying, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions“. Many years ago I attended a church business meeting, where the pastor’s remuneration was discussed. As a new Christian, I looked up to the people I had become acquainted with through the Sunday services, with their lofty prayers and knowledge of the Bible, their friendliness and gracious platitudes, but at the business meeting several of them behaved in ways I did not expect. They were angry, abusive, disagreeable and disrespectful. I was left disillusioned and it was only through a gracious and wise pastor that I continued my journey in the faith. Bad fruit? There’s a danger in behaving in that way, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:19, “So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire”.

But we all stumble and fall at times. Thankfully, God is gracious and kind and forgives all repentant sinners. He picks us up, dusts us down, and puts us back on the road to Glory. And the fruit continues to grow. 

Dear Patient and Loving Father. Through Jesus You know all our human frailties and help us in our times of need. Thank You. Amen.