ARE YOU FRUITFUL?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”

“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. 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. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”

John 15:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What is our purpose in life?

Have you ever thought about this?

I think it’s a question that we all come to at some time or another for I believe everybody comes to a point where they wonder why they have existence. Perhaps they become bored with just looking after themselves and living within their own personal life bubble, so much so that they start to ponder whether there is something more exciting and interesting, something more satisfying and gratifying, something greater than they know and experience within their mundane, groundhog day routines.

This is what a fruitless life can feel like. It’s an exercise grounded in feelings of uselessness and a general lack of zest in one’s daily activities. It’s a way of living that is minus the one person who can inject vitality into lethargy and bring production where there was once idleness. That person is Jesus.

For as we look at today’s passage, we find Jesus giving direction on becoming fruitful and He does so in a mere eight verses by using an agricultural illustration, one that His listeners would easily relate to.

Wine production was an important industry in Israel during Jesus time and this meant there had to be a healthy supply of grapes. To produce grapes, you needed a vineyard and there were more than a few around, so many that most people had a base understanding about them and how the vines grew and yielded crops via the branches extending from them. As long as a branch was connected to the vine, it had life and could generate fruit. If a branch was detached, it would shrivel and die, fruitless and therefore useless.

Now translate this to what Jesus was really getting at and that was to ask a simple question to His disciples, past and present:

Are you fruitful?

Note that the answer to the question is pretty simple.

If you are in Jesus the Vine, which simply means that you believe and follow Him faithfully, then you will bear much fruit. This is because Jesus will always lead us to places where we will carry out God’s will and do so in holiness and righteousness. And as we produce fruit through Christ, note that we bring the Father’s glory through our actions while letting others know that we are indeed Christians, not just by word but by deed.

Now vineyards need someone to tend to the vines and the branches and that person is the gardener. The gardener will prune the branches, not to damage them but rather to make them more healthy and fruitful. Again, translating this in regard to the illustration, God, the Master Gardener, is continuously “pruning” Christ believers, refining and renewing them so they can be even more fruitful as the live as Jesus did and carry out their Father’s will.

Conversely, God cuts away any branches that bear no fruit. Think about that analogy for a minute and imagine you being cut away and separated from the Jesus who is the Life. Jesus is making a strong point here that a life separate from Him is lifeless existence. For any branches not connected to the Vine are thrown out to wither and then thrown into the fire and burned. It’s an imagery painted with eternal judgment and damnation, imagery which conveys the consequences of trying to live without Christ. This is where a fruitless life, a life without Jesus, ends up.

Additionally, we read where no branch can go rogue outside of Jesus and be fruitful. So many people maybe think they know best when it comes how to live. And so they operate day-by-day in accordance with their own will. They do what they see as best and Jesus isn’t in the picture because these kinds of people feel they can go through their existence without Jesus. They are living the lie of self satisfaction and self preservation, and they are walking the road of self centered destruction which is where every person who chooses to live apart from Jesus ends up.  

And so we come back to the question:

Are you fruitful?

If you are in Jesus, connected to the Vine and tended to by God the Master Gardener, then the answer is a resounding “yes”!

If you have decided to reject Jesus and try to live outside the Vine and its Master Gardener, then you can expect to be fruitless and die off before being cast into the fire, only the fire you are thrown into is one that will never go out and you will never burn completely. Instead, you’ll just burn away for eternity, wishing you had used better judgment and connected yourself to the Vine, bearing fruit as a result.

As you can see, there are only two choices here. You can opt to be fruitful, believing in Jesus and finding eternal life, or you can decide to reject Jesus, separate yourself from the Vine, and die off, useless and burning in an everlasting fire of judgment.

Only a fool would choose the latter.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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