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Fruit-Bearing
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I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. John 15.5 GNB If we are united to Christ we bear fruit - that is one of the greatest things that being a disciple means. It was in his last words to the eleven, when he was about to be parted from them, that Jesus said it: separated from me you can do, not just a very little, but nothing. He had been explaining that to be united to him in his physical absence means obedience, and an enormous love. Bearing fruit is his purpose for the church, and what he expects of each one of us, it is the reason we are connected to him. This does work for our own benefit too - what could be better than to love obey and enjoy Christ, enjoy the Father, above anything else and for ever. But at heart it is not a selfish union, it means doing what will make people praise God, and enduring for God's sake, and being that sort of person. Christ lives in us by his Spirit, and that is how we bear fruit, which is the essential purpose of our life. There is no part of our life to which this does not apply. We are in the wrong place altogether if we think we live so much as a quarter of an hour to ourselves. Every moment we are Christ's hands and feet, his tools, his slaves. True, in daily life we do things and play a part which does not seem to have any connection with him. But to be true to him, we should be living as ones who belong to him whatever else is happening in us or around us. Whether we are working or resting, laughing or doing serious Christian service, on our own or talking to others, He still belongs to us. And we belong to him. If we are aware of this, it will result in fruit bearing. We shall not feel awkward about it, we shall just come to relax in doing and being what pleases him. And Christ will shine out of our lives in every thought and action. Another picture in scripture of being joined to Christ is marriage. Paul uses the analogy that the old relationship with God based on keeping his laws is cancelled by the death of Christ for us. Now we belong to 'Another, the One who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God' (Romans 7.4) - the GNB puts it, 'be useful in the service of God'. No longer is our life a matter of obeying rules, we serve in the new way of the Spirit. Union with Christ reveals itself in a life of true holiness, so that is the basis we must act on, in restful strength, confident in his power. His power. Yet we need to be watchful of our lives, and be conscious of His strength that we are drawing on. The fruit we bear is the fruit of the Spirit. All its facets blend together - not love and joy here, faithfulness there, meekness and self-control somewhere else, but one character of many sides, such as is described in the Beatitudes. It is the Spirit that makes real our union with Christ. Christ is like the sun with its warmth and glory, the Spirit is like the air around us through which it shines. Or putting it another way, Christ is the fountain of spiritual life, the Spirit the channel by which life reaches us. Scripture speaks of being absolutely filled with the fruit of righteousness. It is like an apple orchard where all the fruit has ripened to maturity and all the trees are loaded, 'pushing out golden apples wherever there is wood to carry them'. This means we seek the full experience of the Spirit, not necessarily in ecstasies of emotion. The true secret of the matter is our calm, deliberate, submissive welcome of the Holy One in, for Christ's will to be done in every part of our being, in every circumstance, at every time. We make it our considered decision to be, every moment, everything that He is able to make us. To be filled in every part and through all our lives with everything that he can put into us. 'Tis thine to cleanse the heart, To satisfy the soul, To pour fresh life on every part And new create the whole. This article is based on the work of HCG Moule, Thoughts on Union with Christ 1887. |
