What Kind of Fruit Grows on Your Tree?

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:8 (ESV)

Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit - a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. (see Matt. 12:33) He also said in John 15, that His Father is glorified when we bear much fruit. Basil of Caesarea, a 4th Century church leader taught, "A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds." Since life has been figuratively illustrated as a tree, the question is, what kind of fruit grows on your tree? 

I don't know a lot about trees; I always had trouble identifying trees even by their leaves in middle school science class. When we moved from Knoxville to Jefferson City we had a number of fruit trees in our yard. My dad knew they were fruit trees, but we just didn't know what kind of fruit they would bear ... until spring when the apple trees bloomed and produced apples. Then, late summer we discovered that we also had peach trees. We knew what type of trees they were, simply by the fruit they bore. 

This is also true of our lives. Those around us know what kind of people we are because of the fruit that we bear in our daily living. What kind of fruit grows on the tree of your life? Most people are more interested in picking fruit than in producing fruit, ("it's easier to be a consumer than a contributor" John Maxwell), but Jesus calls us to bear fruit, so what kind of fruit grows on the tree of your life? 

Galatians 5:22 tells us that the follower of Christ will bear the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit, and then it gives nine qualities to that fruit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (is the song stuck in your head now?). We've been studying these nine qualities on Sunday mornings at Grace Point and this week we are looking at "goodness" - what is it? Where does it come from? and How is it seen in our lives? You can join us live (9am), join us on Facebook live, or listen to the messages at our website. 

But I want to talk briefly about bearing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. I think John 15 gives us three principles for bearing healthy fruit of the Spirit. God's Spirit bears His fruit in our lives when we ... 

1. ... Remain connected to the source of fruit
Jesus says in John 14:4-5, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." Christ is the source of power that produces fruit in our lives; when we are connected to Him, He produces His fruit in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc. If those things are missing from our lives, the place to start is in checking our connection to Him. Some questions to think about - Have I ever been connected to Him? (Have you ever been saved by Christ?) Am I staying connected to Him through prayer, study of His word, fellowship with His followers, regular worship, obedience, etc.? When we are connected to the right source of Christ, He will produce good fruit in our lives. If those things that are listed in Galatians 5:22 are missing from our lives, we need to check our connection to the source of fruit. 

2. ... Are pruned and disciplined
Jesus says in v.2, "He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Fruit bearing is God's greatest desire for His children. Just like every parent wants their children to grow up to be mature, productive adults who contribute more than they consume, God wants His children to grow up to bear fruit that pleases Him. So to produce the most fruit in our lives, He sometimes cuts things away that hinder us from bearing the most fruit - we call this "being disciplined" by God. Sometimes things He removes from our lives aren't bad things, they're just not the best things for producing His fruit. You will be fruitful only as you become disciplined by God; pruning is the price for producing. Pruning can be a painful process, but when we remember that God's goal is to get the best fruit from our lives, we can endure and cooperate with His process. Finally ...

3. ... Realize the glory it brings God when we bear much fruit. 
Jesus says in v.8, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father." When our lives are abounding in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control God is pleased, He is glorified. When we bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, it is evidence that we are Jesus' disciples, God is our Father and He is praised, exalted and glorified. When the tree of our life bears His fruit, we are healthy and God is pleased. 

So what kind of fruit grows on the tree of your life? Is it the fruit of God's Spirit? Is it good fruit? Because a good tree brings forth good fruit. Are you connected to the Vine? If not, get in touch with me, I'd love to help you make that connection...