
Yes, I know what “fruity” tends to mean in our culture. No, I don’t care. I’m taking the word back. Fruity fruity fruity.
Luke 6.43-45 KWL - 43 “For a good tree doesn’t grow rotten fruit, nor a rotten tree grow good fruit:
- 44 Each tree is known by its own fruit.
- You don’t gather figs from thistles. You don’t reap grape bunches from thornbushes.
- 45 The good person brings up good things from the good treasury of a good mind.
- The evil brings up evil things out of an evil mind.
- From the mind’s overflow, their mouth speaks.”
His apostle Paul didn’t care to even call bad behavior “fruit,” preferring to call ’em
And if we’re truly following Jesus, we should see the good stuff. Right?
John 15.1-8 KWL - 1 “I’m the true grapevine. My Father’s the gardener.
- 2 He lifts off the ground my every branch which doesn’t bear fruit.
- He prunes every branch which does, so it can bear even more fruit.
- 3 You’ve already been trimmed by the message I gave you:
- 4 Stay in me, and I in you, like a branch which can’t bear fruit all by itself
- when it doesn’t stay in the grapevine. When you don’t stay in me, you never produce.
- 5 I’m the grapevine. You’re the branches. Those who stay in me, and I in them,
- produce a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything apart from me.
- 6 When anyone won’t stay in me, they’re thrown out like a branch:
- They wither, are gathered up, tossed into fire, and burned.
- 7 When you stay in me and my words stay in you,
- whenever you want, ask! It’ll happen for you.
- 8 My Father is glorified by it when you produce a lot of fruit,
- and become my students.”
In the quote above, it sounds like it’s possible to produce no fruit, good or bad. Which isn’t better. Jesus tells another story about a fruitless tree:
Luke 13.6-9 KWL - 6 Jesus told this parable: “Someone has a figtree planted in his vineyard.
- He comes to find fruit on it, and finds none.
- 7 He tells the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years I come to find fruit on this figtree.
- I find none, so cut it down, for why should it waste the ground?’
- 8 In reply the vinedresser told him, ‘Sir, forgive it this year, so I can dig and throw manure round it.
- 9 It might indeed produce fruit… and if not, you’ll cut it down.”
Those who produce no fruit—nothing God can use, anyway—are getting disposed of. “Gathered up, tossed into fire, and burned,” is how Jesus put it.
So if we truly follow Jesus, we oughta be super fruity. Our lifestyles should be filled with christlike behavior. Filled with proof of God’s influence on our lives: We should share his character traits, which Paul called “fruit of the Spirit.”
And yeah, to some degree we should also see
So when a person claims to be Christian, claims to follow Jesus, yet their lifestyle is no different than
The true grapevine.
Why does Jesus call himself the true vine? ’Cause clearly there are fake ones. There’s not just one vine in the vineyard.
There are all sorts of things we Christians feel we oughta plug into. (If you’ll permit me to use an electrical metaphor instead of a farming one.) Some of these outlets aren’t bad things.
Here’s where I’m going with this: The things we Christians do, which’re meant to bring us closer to Jesus, sometimes don’t really tap into him. Often Christians turn these activities into substitutes for Jesus. When we take Jesus out of
In Bruce Wilkinson’s book
But hold on there, little buckaroo. If God’s truly working on you, you’re gonna be fruity. Period.
True, maybe you aren’t so sure you’re fruity. We can be awfully hard on ourselves. If so, go find another Christian with an objective viewpoint. If the Spirit’s really in your life, they’ll notice visible fruit. If it’s not there, repent! Stop resisting God, obey Jesus… and check back later. Incidentally the fact you wanna please God, counts as fruit; so there’s that. Just never be satisfied with that. And never stop the self-examination: Test everything, cling to everything good,
When we stay in Jesus—when we plug into him like he’s plugged into the Father—Jesus tells us, “Whenever you want something, ask.”
As it is, the reason we get our requests met as often as we do, is dumb luck. We’re not that evil, so we ask God for things he can’t really object to. We coincidentally line up with God’s will. Which is pathetic. Our every wish should line up with God’s will. Thus he’ll be pleased and give us his kingdom, and he’ll receive honor because Christians are his true followers.
That’s Jesus’s idea. Let’s implement it. Let’s get fruity.
