Jesus spoke in parables and gave illustrations to help people understand the relationship between God and man. In the book of John Jesus says, “I Am the True Vine” and He goes on to say that His Father God is the vinedresser or gardener of the vineyard. We, His children, are the branches that are supposed to bear fruit.
The vine is the lifeline of the plant and the branches grow from the vine. The role of the branches is to bear fruit and become more fruitful. Jesus said that the branches that bore no fruit would be cut off and those that bore fruit the Father would prune or cut back so that they could bear more fruit.
Jesus said that if we abide in Him, relying on Him and not our independent selves, and He abides in us, we would bear much fruit. Without Him we can do nothing. Jesus wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him and as we draw our life from Him through His Word and Holy Spirit we would bear a lot of fruit.
What is the fruit that we are to bear? In the book of Galatians (Gal. 6:22-25) the fruit of the Spirit is listed as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The opposite of those characteristics are works of the flesh which include adultery, hatred, jealousies, envy, murders, drunkeness, sorcery, and the like (Gal. 6:16-21). Jesus wants us to depend on Him to change our character from the flesh driven desires of man to the character of Christ. To have a life of love, joy, and peace is so much better than a life full of anxiety and depression which is the fruit that comes from the works of the flesh. You may not be a murderer but how many times has social media made you envious of someone else’s lifestyle, looks, or things?
Why did Jesus use the term “bear” fruit and not “produce” fruit? We may think that the fruit we are to bear is saving more souls and preaching the gospel to more people. Bearing fruit comes from God working in us, and through us. Producing fruit is us trying to work for God to please Him by what we do. Our job is to believe and depend on Jesus, His Word, to help us in every area of our lives. We may go through unpleasant circumstances or a period of pruning where our Father is cutting off areas that are hindering our fruitfulness. Just like the vines, we will grow and become more fruitful. If you feel you are going through a period of pruning, stay close to Jesus who loves you so much, and know that this season will be short and you will bear more fruit from it. (Psalm 1:3)
Read the rest at: https://litwithprayer.substack.com/p/jesus-is-the-true-vine?sd=pf