Fruit for the World

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“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: 4-8; NIV

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Jesus is very clear in the bible: his disciples are expected to “bear fruit.”

But have you ever taken the time to ask yourself what that really means, or even ask “why?”

I’ve spent my entire life in the church, but up until recently had never taken the time to consider the question in any depth. My hope is that this article will help you to better understand the purpose of fruit-bearing, and as a result, better understand God and His kingdom here on earth.

The Purpose of Fruit-Bearing

About a year ago I was working through a bible study by Tony Evans titled Kingdom Disciples. Toward the tail-end of the book he had a section where he talked about the fruit of a kingdom disciple, in it he made the following observation:

Fruit is characterized by three distinctions:
1. VISIBILITY. You’ve never seen or eaten invisible fruit. Fruit is always something you see.

2. AUTHENTICITY. Fruit always bears the character of the tree of which it’s a part. You won’t find pears on apple trees or oranges on pear trees because fruit authentically replicates the nature of the tree from which it grows.

[…]

But it was his third observation of the nature of fruit that floored me:

3. AVAILABILITY. Fruit never exists for itself. Fruit is always available for the consumption of someone else. The only fruit you ever see eating itself is rotten fruit. Think about it. When fruit rots, it begins a process of eating away at its own existence, shriveling into only a shell of its once wondrous beginnings. The very purpose of fruit is for someone to bite it, be nourished by it, enjoy it, and grow from it.

Kingdom Disciples bible study by Tony Evans; p. 96 (emphasis mine)

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Reading that was such an eye-opener for me – I had never thought of Christian fruit-production like that!

But like I said before, I hadn’t thought much of the topic at all to that point. So it got me to thinking …

What had I thought previously about the purpose of bearing fruit? Because even though I had never specifically thought about it, surely, I thought something whether I realized it or not. So I dug a little bit.

And as I searched myself, I concluded that I’d believed “fruit” was – more or less – a visual indicator of spiritual maturity; a thing that I could present to God and the world as evidence of my goodness and/or my [spiritual] achievement.

Once I identified my perception of bearing fruit, there was no mistaking the truth: my view of fruit-bearing was largely self-facing. It was ultimately a measuring stick that I (or others) could use to judge my goodness, instead of it being merely a projection of God’s goodness through me.

Because that’s really what the fruit we produce is: a projection of – and an invitation into – God’s goodness and His character.

That’s what God’s creation shows us, after all. A plant doesn’t bear fruit for itself. Sure, there’s a reproductive component often times, but the real value of fruit is in its beauty, its deliciousness, and the nutritional value that it offers to those that consume it.

What is This Fruit?

Then came the next logical question that I needed to address in my effort to better understand fruit-bearing: “What had I been believing the ‘fruit’ was?”

What I came to realize was that I most directly associated the “fruit” of the disciple with evangelism. I recognized that when I read things like the parable of the sower/soils (in Mark 4) and how it spoke about the fertile soil “producing crop”, what I interpreted that to mean was “saving souls” / converting people / getting folks baptized (admittedly, a very evangelical interpretation).

But what does the bible have to say about the types of fruit we’re to bear? What should Christ-disciples be producing for this world? Is the goal conversion numbers? Bible studies taught? Theological debates won? Bible verses memorized? Church programs participated in, or directed?

Well, the answer is given to us plainly by Paul in his letter to the churches in Galatia:

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5: 22; ESV

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A Garden Oasis

At this point you should be beginning to see the picture come together.

Every one of us – as Christ-disciples – are to actively remain connected to him, with the result of that connection being fruit, and the purpose of that fruit being for the world to consume and enjoy.

As we live constantly and firmly connected with Christ, our character and our heart are renewed; and the result of that renewal is the production of visible, tangible, and consumable love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The people around us should literally be able to come to us and pick the life-fruit that is so abundant in us; as well as us regularly offering our fruits of the Spirit to those who desperately need it. Our lives should provide nourishment, strength, encouragement, and healing to all the people we encounter – to both those we get along with as well as those we don’t. Our presence should be one that is attractive, winsome, and lovely to all people at all times.

That, my friends, is what it means to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is restorative for those around us. And this concept is only magnified as it relates to the community of God – the ekklesia (a.k.a. the church).

You see, the culture of our world (in its present state) is much like a desert; It’s a dry, barren place containing little-to-no life. It’s a place characterized by hatred, greed, restlessness, selfishness, anxiety, intolerance, rudeness, malice, unfaithfulness, and a lack of control. And the thing with deserts is, if you’re in that environment long enough – deprived of life-giving things like water and food – your mind will start to play tricks on you.

Off in the distance you’ll see things that look like they’ll provide you with the satisfaction and purpose that you’re craving … but in the end it’s just the heat and the hunger/thirst-induced hallucinations playing tricks on you. The things that you thought would bring real satisfaction are merely mirages in this desert. There’s ultimately no life in them.

After burning what precious little energy you have clawing through the hot sand to reach your goal, you discover that what you were pursuing was never real – whether the illusion was based on romantic relationships, career endeavors, wealth, the party life, popularity, academic achievement, possessions, your appearance, having the perfect family, or even religious activity; without fail, if you devote enough time and energy to those things you’ll eventually find that none of them provide lasting satisfaction in-and-of-themselves.

But there’s supposed to be a hope in this desert world. That hope is the future kingdom of God that has been introduced to the present: the ekklesia.

Vibrant, living little oases distributed throughout the desert landscape where tired, hungry, bitter, disillusioned, damaged, and dying people can come and discover true rest, healing, value, and purpose.

Places where there is shade from the unrelenting sun of judgement, self-sufficiency, striving, and scarce resources. Places where there is never a lack of nourishment. These oases are intimate, living communities of fruit-bearing plants of all shapes, sizes, and flavors – but all of them being equal in beauty and value.

These are places where one can be filled with the authentic love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that they had been searching for but couldn’t find in the desert. And they are places that are home to an everlasting water source, which means those who gather there in its shade will never have to thirst again.

In these gardens the world should find LIFE itself.

Leave with This…

As an individual, the result of a true connection with Jesus is the production of beautiful, nourishing, and healing fruit.

And as the church, the result of a true connection with Jesus is a unified, intimate, loving community of people who are bearing a variety of fruits and pulsing with living water – thus providing a hurting world with a place to find life.

Ask yourself …

• Am I producing the visible, consumable, world-healing fruits of a Christ-disciple?
• Do people regularly come to me for the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that is flowing through me, so that they can be strengthened and healed?
• Or do I simply fall into the “nice person” or “good Christian” category? Someone who is largely unoffensive to the world and its status-quo?
• Generally speaking, are our churches the radically loving, healing oases in a desert world that they’re called to be? Places where restoration and life are so abundant that people can’t help but want to see them more closely, taste them, and be a part of them?
• Or more specifically, is your church community being the radically loving, healing oasis in a desert world that it’s intended to be? A place where restoration and life are so abundant that people can’t help but want to see it closer, taste it, and be a part of it? Why or why not?

I would encourage you to honestly sit with these questions and let them challenge you. And if you find that your fruit production is lacking (or non-existent) then talk to God about it. He wants to hear from you. He wants to reconnect with you, but you have to allow for that. You must be humble enough to open yourself up for that.

Ask Him to reveal Himself to you afresh (or for the first time).

Pursue Him so that He can heal you, and in doing so, you can partner with Him in healing His world.

-Alex