“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:4, 5 & 8 (NKJV)
One day, while picking up apples that had blown off our apple tree during a storm, God spoke some encouraging thoughts about fruit to my heart. I started thinking about the history of this particular Yellow Delicious apple tree. When we planted it eight to ten years earlier, it was a tiny sapling with a couple of branches, a few leaves, small root system and no fruit. However, it was a nice new tree with the potential of becoming a large, fruit-filled tree.
During the first four years it grew slowly with few visible outward changes. It grew a little taller, added a few more branches and more leaves. No fruit. We knew that is was establishing a good root system for we kept it watered, fed and pruned. Most of the growth during these years was underground and unseen.
The fifth year came and in the spring it flowered for the first time and produced some fruit. The fruit was small and most of it did not fully mature but still it was fruit. We kept feeding, watering and pruning.
That brings me to today, a few years later and I am picking up fruit, much fruit. This whole thought process was started when I picked up a certain apple. It was a beautiful apple as apples go and looking at it made me realize that it was as big and juicy as any you could find at the grocery store. In fact, most of the apples on the ground were good enough to pick up and either eat or cook. A few apples had blown off prematurely and were given to the cows but even they were doing something positive. The majority of apples were good, they were all put to use and there were plenty of them.
This was very encouraging to me in my life as a Christian. I thought how I had started out in my walk with God like that little sapling, full of potential but not looking like much. God has been slowly feeding me through his Word, nourishing me through time spent with Him and pruning me, my least favorite part, through discipline and correction.
Sometimes I get discouraged because the outside growth seems to be so little and so slow. God continues to assure me that He is developing a root system in me that is strong so I will be deeply rooted and grounded in Him and His love for me and others. The fruit right now doesn’t always seem like much but I know if I hang on and keep letting God be the gardener that one day I will be like that fruit-filled tree in my yard. All my fruit will be utilized for the good of myself and others and I will become what I was meant to become. God knows the amount of nourishment I need and when. He also uses dry times or times of stress and trials so I can stretch my roots in search of water and further build a strong foundation.
Going back to John 15, I realize that if we will abide in God and let Him be the gardener, we will bear much fruit. By abiding in Him, we will learn to appreciate the fact that without Him we can do nothing and will gladly give God all the glory for all the fruit we bear. Abiding will keep us humble so God can use us to reach people all over our community and beyond with the love of Christ through our words and actions.
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” John 15:16 (NKJV)
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