
Not all trees
bear fruit – this is a fact. Healthy trees produce
good quality fruit. Weak or diseased trees produce little or no fruit or fruit
of poor quality.
Jesus paints a very interesting and complete picture for us
in John 15; He says, He is the vine, we are the branches and His father is the
gardener. He then goes ahead to explain to us how this relationship works:
I am the vine; you are the
branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Here, Jesus tells us simply that we are branches that need
to stay connected to the tree to bear fruit. A branch cannot and does not
survive on its own. It gets its nutrient from the tree. Without the tree, the
branch cannot bear fruit. So just like the branch, we need to abide in Him.
Have you ever seen how connected a branch is to its tree? The branch and the tree
are essentially one until the branch is cut-off and dislodged from the tree.
That is how our relationship should be with Jesus; we should be one in Him and
for Him. Live in Him, abide in Him, Trust in Him, and Live for Him.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more
fruitful.
Jesus tells us that His Father is the gardener who takes
care of the trees. He watches the branches and looks for the branches that are
bearing fruit and those that are not. He cuts down every branch that is not
bearing fruit but prunes the branches that are bearing fruit. The objective of
the pruning is to ensure that it will continue to grow healthily and produce
more fruit. As Christians, when we begin to bear fruit, the Lord places in us
responsibilities, either for ourselves or for others. He however, has to ensure
that our character is also getting developed. He also wants to ensure that our
lives demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit and people can tell through our lives
that we have been with Christ.
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the
fire and burned.
Jesus says you also have to remain in him to bear fruit.
You have to remember the source always! No negotiations. Once a branch is
cut-off and thrown away, it begins to lose all its nutrients, it is no longer
connected to the source and therefore, starts to wither away after a while. When
it becomes obvious that the withered branches can longer be useful, they are
burned in the fire.
As Christians, we are required to bear much fruit, we must
therefore, be healthy branches that are capable of producing fruit.
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