What Does Fruitfulness Look Like?

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).

In this final post on John 15, we ask a straightforward question that this passage raises: What does bearing fruit look like? In other words, how do we know if we are being fruitful?

Some people would suggest that the fruit Jesus is referring to is the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). That’s not a bad answer, but I don’t think that is specifically what Jesus meant in John’s Gospel.

Rather, I think the fruit is more disciples. I say this because according to Jesus, abiding in the Vine looks like giving away the love that they have received—in other words, sharing and reproducing the life and love of Jesus into other people.

What the disciples have received they are called to reproduce (which is, after all, the purpose of fruit on a tree). Fruit carries the seed that enables a plant to reproduce. Disciples carry the “seed” that enables them to produce more disciples.
 

Remember: Converts are not the same as disciples (see my recent blog post on "Converts or Disciples?" here). Fruit isn’t about “soul winning.” It’s about reproducing the life of Jesus into others by first letting it be reproduced in ourselves. It’s about walking in the love of Christ and then giving it away so that it can be received by others.

The question is not “How many people have I converted to Christianity?” The question is one of “Am I faithfully reproducing the life and love of Christ so that others can see it, receive it and reproduce it in themselves?”

Prayer for Fruitfulness: Heavenly Father, let me love others as You have loved me. May the life of Jesus in me give life to those I encounter everyday, and may I bear fruit that glorifies You. Amen!

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