By Paul Chappell
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do
nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye
bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."
John 15:5-8
Here in California
we have wonderful oranges. As you drive through agricultural regions, you can
see grove after grove of orange trees. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of work
go into those orchards. I’ve seen watering and pruning and, of course,
harvesting. But I have never yet seen a planter out in the field talking to the
orange trees and telling them that they need to get busy having oranges.
Why? Because oranges are a natural result of healthy orange
trees. In the same way, spiritual fruit is the natural result of a healthy
Christian. If your life is not producing fruit, it is a sign that something is
wrong. Jesus tells us that if we abide in Him—if our hearts are fixed on Him
and we are filling our minds and heart with His Word—we will bear fruit. A
fruitless Christian is a contradiction, an indication that something abnormal
is going on.
Rather than command us to bear fruit, Jesus tells us that we
must abide in Him. If we do that, fruitfulness is assured. Then He lays out the
purpose of our fruitfulness—to bring glory to God. Everything we do is meant to
honor our Father in Heaven, and fixing our hearts and minds on Jesus assures
that we will be fruitful.
Today's Rooted Principle:
If your life is not fruitful, abide in Christ. You will find
that fruit naturally follows that close relationship.
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