Living in Jesus, Abiding in Him (29)

 

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” John 15:8.

 

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain…” John 15:16.

 

One of the things I have always enjoyed about church life is potluck suppers. Whether in a house church setting, or in a park with picnic tables and pavilions, or in a fellowship hall, there is something special about sampling what folks have prepared while enjoying the fellowship of the saints. The idea behind a potluck supper is that everyone contributes, whether large or small, everyone brings something according to his or her means and talents. With a potluck supper, everyone consumes, and everyone produces.

 

A potluck supper is a picture of what church life ought to look like, for it is a picture of how the Bible portrays the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:14 – 16; Romans 12:1 – 13; 1 Corinthians chapters 12 – 14; 1 Peter 4:10). I cannot understand why the chasm between the Bible and our corporate experience bothers so few people, but for now we’ll keep our focus on the “fruit” of John Chapter 15.

 

Are we producers? That is, are we bearing fruit in our Lord Jesus Christ for the glory of our Father and the blessing of other people?

 

When we gather as the People of God, are we bringing the produce of our land to share with others? When we meet brothers and sisters during the week, are we sharing out of our abundance in Christ Jesus? When we go to work or school or are involved in civic life or recreation, are we bringing the fruit of the Vine, Jesus Christ, to share with others?

 

Are we producers? Is producing fruit our natural way of life? Are we cultivating the land of our souls so that the Word of God in Christ will bear fruit? Are we praying to be producers? Are we learning to garden? Are we seeking to learn to abide in the Vine and to allow the Vine to abide within us?  (John 15:4-5; Proverbs 12:11; 28:19).

 

Just as we are to be known by our love for one another, so we are to be known by our fruit; as we bear fruit in Christ we grow into discipleship and are identified with Him. As we bear fruit our Father is glorified. Unlike natural fruit which once consumed is gone, or which can spoil, the fruit we bear in Christ is fruit that remains – the word “remain” in verse 16 (NASB) is the same Greek word translated “abide” elsewhere in our passage.

 

We have at least two challenges in the way we think about fruit; the first is that we have been trained to think of ourselves as consumers rather than producers. The second challenge is that we’ve been trained to think short-term and not long-term.

 

The world has trained us to consume, to spend our money, to go into debt, to covet, to rely on others for things we need. Our creative abilities have atrophied. Our creative initiative has been discouraged. We don’t think for ourselves anymore, we may think we do but we don’t – we don’t have the attention spans to engage in critical thinking.

 

The professing church has reinforced this mentality, fostering a dependence on its organizations and “experts” that discourages organic life and sharing and growth. The average Christian sees himself as a consumer and not a producer, dependent on the experts to tell him about Jesus and the Bible. To be sure we need one another to grow in Christ, to learn in Christ, we are called as a People…a functioning People (1 Cor. 12:12 in context).

 

The teaching offices and callings of Ephesians 4:11 are for the express purpose of “equipping the saints for the work for service…” These callings are not to promote dependence on themselves, but rather interdependence within the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:16). Will we ever learn?

 

Something is fundamentally amiss when folks who have been “going to church” for decades never have anything to share from their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Word. Something is wrong when spiritual potluck suppers are not our way of life as the People of God.

 

We all have something to bring to the Table. One of our problems is that we’ve been convinced otherwise.

 

The Good News is that as we abide in Christ Jesus that we can trust Him to produce fruit in us and through us, The Good News is that He has chosen us to bear fruit that remains. Will we trust Him in this way of life? Will we trust Him in this process?

 

Will we honor the working of the Holy Spirit within us? Will we encourage one another in the fruit – bearing process? Will we offer what Jesus produces within us to others, and will we partake of what others offer to us in Christ?

 

Will we be patient with ourselves and with one another? Are we willing to learn this way of life? Will we see that this is a shared life in Jesus Christ?

 

There is a fig tree growing at the home of one of my fifth great-grandfathers. This tree was planted sometime in the late 1700s. I recall picking a ripe fig from this tree and eating it and thinking that my fifth great-grandfather also picked fruit from the tree and ate it. The tree that he planted has fruit that is remaining, year after year, season after season.

 

Fifty-eight years ago, Howard Wall developed a relationship with me that brought me to know Jesus Christ. Howard has been dead a long time, but his fruit remains. Months after I met Howard, I met George Will. George sowed the seed of the centrality of Jesus Christ within my soul and he reinforced it over the years whenever we connected. George has been dead a few years now, but his fruit remains.

 

Harry Hanger, Rod Barton, Dan Smick, Bruce Harrison, and Jim Withers all showed me what it means to put Jesus and others first, even in the midst of suffering – they are with Jesus now, but their fruit remains.

 

I could go on and on, telling of folks whose fruit trees I’ve partaken of – men and women who have imparted Christ to me, who have fed me with fruit that remains and that always nourishes. These sisters and brothers knew what it is to abide in the Vine, and they shared the outflow of their Life with me…and with others.

 

We all have fruit to share in Christ; we need opportunities, we need encouragement, we need affirmation, we need to be reminded that Jesus Christ lives in us, and we live in Him. In Jesus, and in one another in Him, we truly have all that we will ever need.

 

Are we consumers?

 

Or are we producers in the Vine?