What is the Fruit?
Good Morning,
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2
When someone plants a garden, they till the ground, clear it of weeds and plant the seeds. Then these planted seeds when properly nurtured, bring forth the intended fruit. There are two important aspects of this for Christ-followers that are critical to our understand of abiding.
First, we must weed out anything that keeps the seed from flourishing. Scripture refers to this as pruning. And pruning is generally not fun. There is one weed that I am convinced keeps us from abiding and bearing fruit as much as any other. And that weed is busyness.
Abiding (remaining) in the vine requires time. Not just time for doing, but time for being present with God. Yet many, if not most of us are so busy that we have difficulty carving out space for connectedness. We feel good if we cram in a few minutes for reading our bible or praying. We pat ourselves on the back for giving God an hour on Sunday morning. The rest of the week however, leaves little time for drawing nourishment. If we do, it looks a little like, “OK God, I’ve got 10 minutes in my schedule for you. Whip whatever you want on me.”
If you were to make a dinner reservation at a very expensive restaurant and plan a special night with your spouse, I bet you wouldn’t rush that time. I bet you would look forward to it and relish the experience. It would fuel your stomach and your relationship. If your schedule does not allow any apace for relishing some time with the Vine, you are too busy. Period. Busyness needs weeded out.
Secondly, just what is the fruit we are to bear? Perhaps like me you spent much of your life thinking fruit here is leading others to Christ. And it is possible then, that this brings a weight of guilt to you. While we are certainly called to make disciples that is not the fruit this passage is talking about. The fruit we are to bear is fruit that reflects the outflow of the vine. The fruit we are to bear is to become a representation of Christ. It is moral character. It is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5). Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we abide in the Vine and stay relentlessly connected to it our lives will increasingly reflect the Vine itself. That is the fruit. And that fruit is desirable indeed.
The fruit that God seeks in us is one thing: Christ-likeness. To be in Jesus is to be like Jesus. That is what God seeks in every Christian. – Pastor Darryl Klassen
Questions to ponder this week:
1. Does busyness need weeded out of your life?
2. What is getting in the way of you carving out time to be present with God?
3. To what extent do your interactions with others reflect Christ? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
Live on purpose, Ron Klopfenstein, CPLC
