According to the Word of God, we are supposed to bear fruit as followers of Jesus. Jesus says that He is the vine, and we are the branches. Whoever abides in Him, will bear much fruit. We cannot do anything apart from Christ (John 15:5). Jesus tells us if we abide in Him, His words abide in us and what we ask shall be done (John 15:7).  

Why is Bearing Fruit Important?

John 15 tells us that Jesus is the true vine, and the Father is the vinedresser (farmer). And Jesus says that we, the branches, shall be taken away into the fire if we do not bear fruit (John 15:1-2). Every healthy tree bears good fruit, and the diseased tree bears bad fruit (Matthew 17:17-18). This signifies to me how important it is that we bear fruit. It goes on to say that the Father is glorified when we bear much fruit and that when we bear much fruit, we prove to be disciples of Jesus. So not only can we, the branch, be taken away, but if we do not bear fruit, we are not disciples of Jesus. So, then what are we disciples of? We need to be careful that we are not disciples of the things of this world. So ultimately, this tells us our destination if we do not bear fruit if we are not disciples of Jesus. This is a heavy truth. So let us bear fruit to glorify the Father.

What is this Fruit?

So, are we bearing fruit?  And what is this fruit that we should to be bearing?

The man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked but delights in the law of the LORD and mediates on it day and night, he is like a tree planted by streams that yield fruit in its season (Psalm 1:1-6). When we walk according to the Spirit, keeping our hearts and minds on the things of God (see In The Spirit blog post), we bear the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:16-23).

This says that when we live our lives according to the ways of the LORD, walking in the Spirit with our whole minds on the things of God, we will yield this fruit.

The Good Fruit

So, reflecting on our lives, we should ask the question, do we see all these fruits in our day to day lives. Love is the love that Jesus demonstrates to us. A brotherly love, a sacrificial type of love for others where we are willing to give up our own in caring for them. Joy is that cheerful, gladness that radiates off us because regardless of what we experience in this world we know we have hope in Christ, we know how much He loves us and we know that He is our help at all times. Peace is having a state of tranquillity that we can have even amid the rage and chaos of this world because we know who we are in Christ.

Patience is that endurance, steadfastness and perseverance we have with everyone and everything just as God has patience with us in our shortcomings and our messing up. Kindness is when we are morally good to others, just as God is to us. When we can do good for others without expecting reward or thanks, doing it just because of who we are in Christ and because we want to be like our good Father. Faithfulness is having that belief in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. Do we operate in everything, reflecting our faith in Jesus Christ? We should remain faithful to our belief in Christ in all that we do.

Gentleness is having humility because regardless of what we do in this life, we understand that it is because of God that we can do anything. He is the one that gives us life, knowledge, strength and power to operate in this world to do His will. And we should never forget this. Self-control is having that ability to master our desires and passions. Are we able to have self-control in everything? We should be able to give up things when we need to, not allowing them to control us. Are we consuming too much social media, causing our bible study time to suffer? Do we have control over our wants and can easily give it up so that we can give more to someone in need?

How do we make sure we bear this fruit?

Walk in the Spirit

Paul, in Galatians, tells us to walk by the Spirit so that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. When we walk by the Spirit, we do not do the works of the flesh such as sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, jealousy, and so many more. When we walk according to the Spirit, keeping our hearts and minds on the things of God (see In The Spirit blog), we bear the fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-23).

Trust in LORD

The Lord said blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a planted tree by water … he does not fear when the heat comes… he does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8). So, let us trust God and walk according to His Spirit so that we can bear good fruit.

Now that we are of the light and no longer of darkness, we are to walk as children of light. The fruit of light is found in all that is good, right and true (Ephesians 5:8-9). We are to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:11).

Summary

The Bible tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in faith (1 Corinthians 13:5). So, are we in faith, do we bear this fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? And if not, what is missing, are we in sin, are we not walking in the Spirit, are we not trusting God. Do we need to come back to God? Have we even given our lives to Christ? Is the LORD, not our trust? Are we not disciples of the Lord Jesus? Are we not seeking to learn from Him by the word of God? What is most important to us, God or this world? Beware that we are only pilgrims here for our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). So, let us make sure that we are in faith, we bear fruit, and that we are bound for eternal joy and peace with our beloved creator in heaven.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.