Fruit

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser" is the beginning to a section of John that is very well quoted. We most likely have all seen a pastor get up on stage and read this passage of the gospel then start to talk about how we need to abide in Christ and His commandments to bear fruit, at which point they will turn to Galatians to read what it says that the fruit are. after that the pastor may use some other passages to back up what he is saying then come up with a challenge to abide in Christ so that we will show the fruit in our lives.

at this point in reading some people who know me well might be saying to themselves this is where PJ starts to go on a rant of some sort but I won't (today) because I don't disagree with any particular point of this talk. all of that is very good and true, we need to rely on Christ and if we do our life will bear a lot of fruit and give glory to God. But in a conversation that I had earlier we discussed this passage which got me thinking about how I always interpreted this passage, I always interpreted this passage while examining how many of the fruit I was displaying in my life.

As I was in this conversation one of the guys in it told about part of the pruning process of grapes saying that if a farmer doesn't prune back some of the branches of the grape plant it will still bear fruit (and it can still bear quite a lot of fruit) but the fruit that it will bear won't taste good and will taste bitter instead of tasting sweet and tart. So as I started to think about this I asked myself is maybe the point of this passage wasn't for us to think about how much fruit we are bearing but maybe it is to get us to think about the quality of the fruit that we are bearing. Yes it is good to bear a lot of fruit but if everything that we produce tastes bitter who will want to take it. On the other hand if we produce a little but everything that we produce sweet tasting we will only be making people leave wanting more.

Then in time we will learn to grow more fruit but in growing more we won't sacrifice the quality. In that way we will become like the land that God promised Israel, flowing with milk and honey.

Scripture Used:

John 15:1-11 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 " You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 " Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Galatians 5:16-26 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Numbers 13:1-23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 2 " Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them." 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. 4 These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, "Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country. 18 "See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. 19 "How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications? 20 " How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. 22 When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

NASU