Monday, June 13, 2005
John 15:7-8 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
THE SECRET OF FAITH'S FRUITS
When I was young, we had a lot of sand burrs in our yard. So as children we spent quite a bit of time out in the yard with my mother pulling sand burr plants. My mom taught us early on that if we wanted to pull a weed and keep it from growing back, we had to get a good grip on it as close to the ground as we could, and try to pull the roots up with it. If we got in a hurry and only pulled the top of the plant off, then we found that the plant would soon grow back, because we hadn't pulled the roots.
This is the illustration that our Savior is making in our text. These words of Jesus were spoken in the upper room on the night before Jesus was crucified. In this farewell sermon to His disciples, Jesus is telling them that He is not going to be with them physically much longer, but that He will continue to provide the strength they will need. Jesus uses this illustration to help His disciples understand what it is that He does for them and in them. He is the true life-sustaining vine that provides all their needs and will not be uprooted.
Jesus also tells them how He will give them and us the strength that we need: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you." Did you notice what it is Jesus says will give us what we need? It is His Word which gives us everything that we need to produce fruits of faith. It is His Word which enables us to become stronger in our faith and to live our lives for Him. He provides the means, the strength, and the will through His Word.
Our fruits are produced by God through the power of the Gospel and they give glory, not to us, but to God. That is the greatest thing about our fruits. They do not glorify us because they are not produced by us. Rather they are produced through us to the glory of our God! We have the gift of being fruitful branches who have been connected to the True Vine and living to the glory of our God who created us, our God who redeemed us, and our God who brought us to faith through His holy Word. All Praise be to our Triune God for all that He has done for us and for our eternal salvation!
