Produce Good Fruit

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  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. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep M y commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another." John 15:1-17

 

There are a lot of personal pronouns in this passage but the one I want you to focus on is the word Me. When Jesus is speaking this parable, He isn't referring to anyone else examining or having authority over our branch or fruit. He only talks about God being the vinedresser and Himself being the true vine. The vines that produce no fruit, according to verse 2, is taken away and in verse 6, if no branch produces, it is thrown into the fire and burned.

 

How can we bear fruit? In verse 4, the only possible way to bear fruit is to abide in Christ, the True Vine. The end of verse 4 says, "for apart from Me you can do nothing." The only way we can produce good fruit, is to abide in Christ. In our home, we are big fruit and veggie eaters. The kids always have grapes and when they ask, I always start by taking the bag out and picking through the good ones and bad ones. If a grape looks too soft or almost dead, that grape gets tossed out into the woods. The good ones get washed in dawn soap, dried off, drizzled with fresh water, and off to the children. In order to keep grapes fresh longer, those grapes that look almost dead get tossed from the bag for the sake of affecting the good grapes. Over time, some grapes get weak from hanging on to the vine so they fall off and sit in the bottom of the bag only to be tossed when I get more grapes for the next snack time. Those dead grapes have no use and the only option is to toss them. Our spiritual lives are ones that should be found in Christ. We should cling to the True Vine and desire to produce good fruit and not bad fruit. Here are some differences of those good fruit producers and bad fruit producers:

Good Fruit Producers
-Has genuine love for others.
-Holds no grudges/bitterness.
-Prays for his/her enemies in love, not spite.
-Kindness and encouragement for all.
-Talks the talk but also walks the walk.
-Thinks of others before self.
-Acts upon scripture because the Holy Spirit is there to convict and guide.                                                                

Bad Fruit Producers
-Hates certain individuals.
-Grudge holder/bitter
-Sees no need in praying for enemies.
-Snooty/Cruel/Bully-like.
-Social media Christian only.
-Self comes first
-Ignores parts that offends their actions.

When we love Christ, we are called to be like Him in all aspects. Going back to the personal pronoun of Me, we can show the world all kinds of deeds and post about how we are living for the Lord so forth and so on, but God is the Vinedresser. He is the One who sees what our friends on Facebook don't see. He hears the gossip behind closed doors, He reads the texts sent to our friends and family members, and He knows what thoughts come through our minds daily. What kind of branch are we? Will we be one that will be tossed into the fire? Bearing good fruit is good but that good fruit is based on God's standard, not ours. We might think that we are producing good fruit because we base it on social media reactions to our lives and what we post, but do you know what's more scary? If all we did was in vain. When we see our Vinedresser, let's make it am opportunity for the Lord to be pleased with our service here on earth. We can fool Facebook, but we can't fool God. If we put our total focus on the Lord, we would be more busy with the Lord's work than on social media trying to please people who have no control over our eternal lives. With that being said, I encourage everyone to spend more time with the Lord in His Word and grow your prayer life. Seek ways to glorify God in a way that only God and not man can see. Jesus said that whatever you do in private, God will bless you for. Encourage others to grow in Christ, get rid of all malice and gossip. Be peacemakers and rid yourself of any unnecessary drama that floods your life. Be kind to your enemies and ask God to bless them and even ask God to help you make amends with them. God is good and life is short and  if we glorify God here on earth, can you imagine the rewards waiting for us in Heaven? Eternity with Christ is too precious to waste with petty foolishness here on earth. Make your time count for the cause of Christ.

 

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 5-11