Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Jesus spoke to the people about common, everyday things. His stories oftentimes illustrated a spiritual truth better than any theological discussion could. Many of His stories were centered on agriculture. One of these passages is as follows.
"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. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:5-8)
This real world story talks about a plant bearing fruit. Every one of His hearers would have understood the principles of the garden. Jesus uses it to illustrate some important spiritual truths.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): The first truth He addressed is the need for His disciples to “remain in Him.” The concept is to stay somewhere. In this case, it means staying close to Him through all of our lives. If you are like me, then you sometimes struggle.
You struggle to live the life that you want to live for Christ. I don’t like it and neither do you, I am sure, but it is a fact. Paul had the same issues (Romans 5:18-19), so did Peter (Mark 14:66-72). But, struggles are not grounds for dismissal. Jesus’ story did not mean that if we messed up He would throw us away or into Hell. He is stating a truth.
If we do not remain in Him, since He is the source of all our spiritual life, then we will wither and the life will run out of us. We will feel it, and it will not be enjoyable. The second truth He talked about was the principle of bearing fruit. My wife grew up in a farming community.
She has an advantage over me when it comes to plants. I am a city boy. The only plants we grew were grass and weeds! All plants bear fruit of some kind. They also only bear fruit like themselves. An orange tree doesn’t produce bananas, and a lemon tree doesn’t produce pineapples. If we stay tapped into the life giving person of Jesus, then we will receive all the nutrition we need to produce fruit. This fruit will come naturally, if we stay in Him.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Okay, so what does this mean to me and my spiritual life? It means that there is only one way to be successful in my life as a Christ follower. I must stay plugged in to Jesus. I do this by spending time in His Word and spending time with Him in prayer and private worship.
When I do this, and do it out of love and devotion, then I will bear fruit. As a matter of fact, the book of Psalms says I will always be alive!
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3) Does this describe your life? I want to be a fruit bearer so that God’s work in me can happen in someone else’s life. I want to be a duplicator.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): John 15:1-17
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