John 15
John 15:5 “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 th branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is tthat bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Its funny, as I read this verse, and much more of John chapter 15, two things happen; First, God totally puts me in my place making me realize that I can do absolutely nothing that is worth anything without His power working through me. Second, I get totally encouraged and blown away at the fact that the Holy and Perfect God who made everything in existence, including me and you, and who deserves perfection, loves us, and wants a relationship with us even in our imperfection.
What exactly is it to bear fruit?? The bible tells us in Galatians 5 that the fruit of the Spirit, (the very Spirit of Truth referenced in verse 26 of this chapter) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. You may not exactly be to interested in these “fruit’s of the spirit” but my friend I urge you to get interested in them! Why you ask? Well in verse 2 of this chapter it says, “Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He Prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” And in verse 6, “If anyone does not abide in me [which would obviously mean that person does not bear fruit] he is thrown away like a branch and withers’ and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Some people try and convince themselves that even though their life does not bear much fruit they are still a Christian. But What does Matthew chapter 7 have to say about that? Matthew 7:16-20 says, “ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down ad thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
My friend it is crucial for us to have fruit in our lives. In saying this I am not telling you that by your good works or deeds you get to heaven, if I did say that I would be severely wrong because we know that it is by faith alone that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior came down to this earth and took on human flesh, lived a perfect life and died on the cross, paying the debt of our sins. But what we need to understand is that this Faith in Jesus Christ needs to be followed by repentance from our sins..by this faith in Jesus Christ we no longer live for this world, but we live to ABIDE in Christ and He in us. We must live our lives for Jesus and Glorify the Father as it says in verse 8. I promise you that in doing this, Jesus is going to give you such a Joy in your heart and more of a passion for the things that He loves.
- Cody Swanson
