Bear Much Fruit!

Last spring my roses didn’t look as good as in other springs. I love those long stem roses and wanted to see them blooming! I realized that not only can bad weather affect them negatively, but I’ve also got my part to play.

Without pruning, they didn’t look great. Realizing how important it was to cut off the dry branches I went and pruned whatever looked dead and dry. I want flowers from those plants, so I need to keep pruning them. Now, they look so healthy and full of flowers.

How much more should a farmer or gardener want fruit on his fruit trees?

John chapter 15 calls God the gardener, who wants us to bear much fruit. The fruit he is talking about here is described in Galatians 5: 22: “the fruit of the Spirit [which] is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

And we’re told how to produce those fruits. We are to remain in Christ.

How do we remain in Christ? We need to be and remain in the Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.

The more we remain in the Word, the more we’re staying grafted onto God. It empowers us to walk in the Spirit. That way, the fruit of the Spirit flows from inside out. So, we can walk in love even if it’s not always easy.“Apart from me, you can do nothing,” said Jesus. But with God, remaining in his Word, and walking in his Spirit, we can do many meaningful things.

Unfortunately, life does sometimes give us some bitter lemons. Let’s let the Spirit transform our bitter fruit into his spiritual fruit. We can love others and will feel love, peace and joy, even during life’s storms.

Heavenly Father, I ask you to help me stay in the Word, to remain in Christ. Let me walk in the Spirit and be the person you want me to be and therefore do what you want me to do. In Jesus’ Name I ask.

Throughout this day: Choose one verse and think about it again and again. Ask what it means to you. Let the verse touch your heart.