I am the vine, you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. –John 15:5 (NIV)

I was driving across town after the recent storms, and I noticed a large branch laying alongside the road.  It was large enough to stick out a bit into the roadway, and I had to change lanes to pass by it.  A couple of weeks later, I passed by that same branch.  It was no longer sticking out into the roadway.  Someone had pushed it aside.  The leaves were now brown and shriveled.  As I drove past this dying branch, I glanced up at the tree it was ripped from and saw how vibrant the tree looked, with all of the other branches still attached.  Apart from the tree, that dying branch was doing nothing.  In John 15:5, we learn from Jesus that, like the brown and shriveled branch, we, too, will shrivel up if we are apart from him.  We must be connected to God through Jesus to bear fruit. 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” –Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

Our behaviors and actions are a direct result of our inward condition and the depth of our relationship with God.  The battle between our flesh and our spirit goes on every day, and if we aren’t working to deepen our relationship with God, our flesh will have its way.  As Galatians 5:16-24 warns, we will demonstrate either the fruit that is in keeping with our sinful flesh or the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The only way we can overcome our selfish evil desires is to abide in Jesus Christ.  Abide means to “remain”.  In John 15:4-5, Jesus urges us to abide in him…to remain in him and he in us so that we can bear fruit.  It goes further than our initial confession of faith and demands that we continuously seek a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Like the branches of a tree, our connection to God through Jesus Christ is vital to the fruit we bear.  And when the Holy Spirit is at work in us, the fruit of the Spirit, rather, the outward demonstration of the inward condition of our hearts will be “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.

I was reading an obituary the other day, and towards the end where it lists the names of family members, it also indicated “and devoted friend…”.  This suggests a pretty close relationship there.  The friend likely spent time with the person, probably talking, listening, and sharing together.  This was obviously a connection that made an impact.  Developing a deep connection to God is similar in that it requires spending time with God, talking and sharing with God, and listening to God.  In practical terms, we deepen our connection through reading the Bible, praying with God, and being obedient to His Word.  How well we bear fruit depends on the depth of our connection to God through Jesus Christ.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. –John 15:8 (NIV)

Bearing fruit means producing positive results.  Disciples are followers of Jesus Christ who win others to become followers and so on and so on!  As John 15:8 confirms, the fruit we bear as disciples of Jesus Christ should be producing positive results for God’s glory.  We should be making disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)!  That is the fruit we should be bearing! 

For those of us who have been quarantined at home, we have had more time than ever before to catch up on our work, our housework, and those DIY projects we used to dream about.  We’ve had more time to cook all sorts of dishes, and more time for spring cleaning and even deep cleaning.  We’ve had more time to develop relationships, including our relationship with God.  But, if you’re like many people I know, even with all of the extra time, you still have important things left undone at the end of every day.  You still have to decide every day where you’re going to focus your time, energy and attention.  For those of us interested in bearing fruit, we must understand how important it is that we have a deep relationship with God, and how important that is in governing what we do with all of our time every day.  The pandemic did not remove our calling to make disciples.  It simply forced us to work around new constraints.  

As the nation begins to reopen, and we look towards returning to our physical church fellowship very soon, be encouraged regarding the ministry work we still have to do.  I welcome you to get connected to God through Jesus Christ, and join with us in this work.  If you already have this connection, the challenge I give you today is to assess whether or not you’ve been bearing fruit.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, seek a deeper connection to God, keep reaching out to others, and keep bearing fruit!