"Fruit", by Lon Alderman

John 15:5
[Jesus said] "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."

I've always struggled with this passage, because I know a lot of good fruitful people that are "apart" from Jesus. The world is full of generous, kind, hospitable, and gracious people that don't have any kind of a relationship with Jesus. How can they bear fruit apart from Jesus?

What is "fruit"?

John 15:8
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

William Barclay wrote:
God is glorified, when we bear much fruit and show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus. The greatest glory of the Christian life is that by our life and conduct we can bring glory to God.

According to Barclay, when we bear "much fruit" we demonstrate to the world that we are Jesus' disciples. Showing ourselves to be Christ's disciples brings glory to God. What we do, our fruit, can be tested by whether it shows us to be disciples of Jesus.

It's not enough to just do good things. Fruit is behaving in a way that shows that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. Fruit is a life that brings glory to God.

Bear much fruit!
Lon
www.AcornMinistries.com