² “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

One can imagine the Lord in the Upper Room speaking to His disciples, holding some fresh fruit in His hand. While we may not know the kind of fruit Jesus may have been holding, we do understand He is speaking metaphorically, and therefore ask, what is the real “fruit” about which He was speaking. Some possibilities immediately come to mind, not least of which is the well-known fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. However, we should not too quickly assume that such wording elsewhere in Scripture means that the fruit here in the Upper Room is referring to the same thing.

Fruit is the result of life, and in this context, it is the goal of life. Often Christians confuse fruit with the means to life or even the abiding process itself. Abiding or remaining in Christ leads to fruitfulness, but abiding or remaining in Christ is not itself the fruit. What’s the difference?

Some think serving is being fruitful, as though the end result of abiding in Christ is to become a servant. Witness the church that pushes people to volunteer or even to attend church services regularly, and that becomes the “evidence” of spiritual growth. After all, the Upper Room experience with Jesus began with a lesson in serving, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). We suggest that in Jesus’ thinking here serving is not the fruit, but a means to being fruitful.

Or we might think of loving one another as the fruit Jesus has in view, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34). Again, while fruit is pictured elsewhere as the greatest of the three Christian virtues (the other two being faith and hope), this is not the ultimate fruit Jesus had in mind.

What about doing the works of Christ, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12)? Or answered prayer (14:13), keeping Christ’s commandments (14:23) or experiencing peace (14:27)? These are all objectives for disciples but not the ultimate goal.

While Jesus’ mission can be stated in different ways, in the Upper Room He has already told them His goal, “…that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31). The Christian’s fruitfulness shines forth as the world comes to see Jesus Christ as the perfect manifestation of God’s love. God is glorified in Him and through Him … and through us.

Father, help me be fruitful in showing the world how much Jesus loves You.