The Root of the Fruit
Fruitfulness abounds from the very first pages of Scripture. As God speaks, the result is the plentiful, overflowing fruit of his labour. His exuberant creation becomes a glorious canvas, displaying the wonder of his majesty. Large expanses are filled, and deep wells populated, as the earth bursts with riotous colour and life. Fruitfulness abounds.
And within moments of reading of his own fruitfulness, we then hear him commanding his image bearers: ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’ (Genesis 2) Fruitfulness is in our DNA. To be an image bearer of the creator God is to bear fruit. But what kind of fruit are we to bear, not just as those made in the image of God, but as those who are in Christ, as new creations?
As we turn to Jesus’ words on the matter in John 15, it shouldn’t surprise us that, the one by whom all things are created and sustained, describes himself as a vine, and his followers as the branches. The one who breathes life and sustenance into every living thing, is also the one who nurtures spiritual life and fruit in the lives of believers. Jesus reminds us with characteristic candour - ‘no branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.’
One of the big, recurring questions for us in this season will undoubtedly be ‘What does fruitfulness look like for you and me?’ Hear Jesus’ words to you now. First and foremost, it looks like abiding in Him. Fruitfulness looks like remaining in Christ, being nourished by Him. It looks like rooting our hearts and lives in the soil of his love, for as he says, ‘apart from me, you can do nothing.’
Did you hear that? Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Apart from Christ, we are unable to bear fruit. The vine’s nourishing work is the essential life-blood for each one of us. We cannot bear fruit without him. For to bear the fruit of the Spirit is just that - it’s of His Spirit, not ours. And it is fruit - an overflow of all that comes from the life-giving vine.
I wonder whether you hear that today as an encouragement or a challenge? In my zeal for accomplishing things and ticking off the to-do list, this is a firm challenge to my heart. Do I truly believe that the only way I can bear much fruit is by remaining in the vine? Or do I think I can life-hack my way to fruitfulness, akin to taping some fruit onto the tree and hoping it will stick?
The fruit of the Spirit is of Christ, not me, and wonderfully, as he continues on, ‘If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit’.
And that’s the encouragement that we all need isn’t it? Fruitfulness is a sure thing, because as Christians, we are united to Christ. We are indelibly grafted onto the vine, and nothing, no nothing, can pluck us from his hand. Dear Christian, be encouraged - you were made to bear fruit - not only as an image bearer, but now as his beloved daughter in Christ. If you remain in Him, ‘you will bear much fruit’.
