Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

No one would be happy if they planted an apple tree and they never got apples. Even if it was the greenest, lushest tree in the field, we would still be upset if it didn’t yield fruit. Fruit is expected if it’s an apple tree. Of course, one would also seek to find out the reason for the lack of fruit. Pruning branches, adding fertilizer, and extra care would be a start. But if the tree goes without fruit for too long, it will be cut down.

 

Bearing fruit is what fruit trees do. It’s not just a bonus; it’s the expectation. Bearing fruit is what Christians do too. It’s not just a bonus; it’s the expectation. This is what Jesus tells us this week. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing,” John 15:5. Branches can’t bear fruit if they aren’t connected to the vine or tree. It’s not the trunk of a tree that bears fruit, but it’s branches. Though the branches don’t survive all by themselves. They must “abide” with the tree to bear fruit.

 

No branch ever grows if it is cut off from the tree. Similarly, no Christian will ever grow in their faith by separating themselves from Christ. Moving further away from Christ and his word will only ever make us more unfruitful. But this is where the pruning comes in. Just as the first reaction of a farmer might not be to cut the tree down, so too, God doesn’t immediately abandon us. Rather, the Christian life is full of pruning. God seeks to remove that which causes us to be unfruitful. The “dead weight” of the tree is our sin. It’s those things that we cling to that drain our energy and motivation to grow as we ought. Something as simple as lying or something as grand as lust, pride, or even murder.

 

Bearing fruit isn’t a one and done endeavor. It’s repeated. It’s continual. I still wouldn’t be happy with an apple tree if it gave me one harvest of apples and no more. As Christians, we’re to continually seek to grow in faith by “abiding” in Jesus. That means being ever present in his word. It means going to church on a regular and consistent basis. It means becoming more like Jesus and less like the world around us. For the only way we can grow, and bear fruit is by remaining faithful to our Lord and his word.

 

Bearing fruit isn’t something we do by ourselves. It’s something that happens to us. We’re the branches, but Jesus is the vine. Jesus remains, or “abides” in us just as we do in him. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me,” John 15:4. As branches connected to the vine, we receive all our nutrients from the vine. As Christians, we receive all that we need from Jesus. By remaining in Jesus, Jesus nurtures us with his forgiveness, mercy, and grace. By his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, Jesus provides us the hope, joy, and love to grow and bear fruit. Bearing fruit is what we do as we abide in Jesus and the salvation he won for us!

 

Pastor Sorenson

 

Prayer:

O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!