We Should Be Bearing Much Fruit 

One of our daughters has several blueberry bushes in her yard. They often welcome us and others to come by and pick some of the delicious fruit when it is in season. I took them up on the offer recently, coming away with a small container full of those berries that I like to include in my morning cereal. One day I asked my son-in-law if another member of the family had come over to get some blueberries as she had told me she might do. He responded that he didn’t know. The bushes are so full of the ripened fruit that he can’t tell when others have been there to take some. There are so many berries that it takes a lot of picking to make a noticeable dent in the abundant supply.

Jesus suggested that the life of someone who follows Him should be filled with fruit too. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). What was he talking about? Some people connect the idea of fruit with the results of our service to the Lord and the effectiveness of the ministries He gives us to do. That is certainly one of the ways we bear fruit for Him. However, this concept also has to do with the Christlike qualities that crop up in our lives. The Bible refers to such characteristics as the fruit of the Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit living in us and transforming us into people who are more like Jesus, then these qualities will increasingly be evident in us. The list includes such traits as love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control.

When Jesus pictured Himself as the vine and His followers as being branches, He didn’t say that they should just bear some fruit. He talked about them bearing much fruit. Too many of us are settling for a life that only sporadically bears fruit for the Lord, or one that only bears a little fruit. We should be seeking to stay so closely connected to the Lord our vine that an abundance of fruit is produced in our lives. It isn’t enough simply to be a branch on the vine. We need to be a fruit-bearing branch.

How important is it? Jesus said that every branch that doesn’t bear fruit is taken away. Lack of fruit might indicate that there is something wrong with our connection to the life-giving vine. Maybe we aren’t abiding in Him. Furthermore, Jesus went on to declare, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6). Fruitlessness has its consequences.

But we should desire to be fruitful not just to avoid the negative consequences. We should do it because it honors God. Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). The more fruit we bear, the more we glorify the Lord and the more we show ourselves to be true followers of Jesus.

So what can we do to be more fruitful? We can’t produce these qualities in our own strength. It isn’t about trying harder to bear more fruit. It is about abiding in Jesus – staying so closely connected to Him that His life-giving energy will work in us to produce more or a greater degree of these characteristics in our lives. Cling to the vine. Strengthen your connection with Him. Then you will find yourself full of fruit that will bring glory to the Lord.