Family,
If I asked you what a healthy apple tree looks like, you would probably answer without much hesitation.
It bears apples.
You wouldn’t judge the health of the tree by the height of its trunk or the number of its branches. You would look for fruit. Fruit tells you something about the life within the tree.
Jesus used that same picture when He taught about His disciples.
In a world that often measures success by numbers, influence, popularity, and appearances, Jesus measured something altogether different.
He measured fruit.
That challenges me.
Because it is possible to look like a Christian on the outside while neglecting the very things Christ desires to produce on the inside.
We can know Scripture and still struggle to forgive.
We can attend church every week and still be ruled by pride.
We can serve faithfully and still lack love.
The Christian life is not measured first by what we do for Christ, but by what Christ is doing in us.
That is where true discipleship begins.
Jesus said,
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”
— John 15:1 (KJV)
Those words are full of meaning.
In the Old Testament, Israel was often described as God’s vineyard. Yet again and again, Israel failed to bear the fruit God desired (Isaiah 5:1–7). When Jesus declares, “I am the true vine,” He is revealing Himself as the faithful Son who succeeds where Israel failed. He is the source of life for everyone who belongs to Him.
This is not just a beautiful illustration.
It is profound theology.
Our life does not begin in ourselves.
It begins in Christ.
Every branch receives its life from the vine. Separated from the vine, the branch has no life of its own. It cannot produce fruit by determination or effort. It bears fruit only because the life of the vine flows through it.
Jesus continues,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
— John 15:4 (KJV)
That word abide is one of the richest words in John’s Gospel.
It means to remain.
To dwell.
To continue.
To stay.
Discipleship is not about occasionally visiting Christ.
It is about making your home in Him.
This is where many believers become discouraged.
We often think spiritual growth happens by trying harder.
“If I pray more…”
“If I read more…”
“If I serve more…”
Those are wonderful disciplines, but they are not the source of spiritual life.
Jesus never said,
“Try harder.”
He said,
“Abide in me.”
There is a difference.
The Christian life is not self-improvement.
It is Christ living His life through those who belong to Him.
This is why Paul could say,
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
— Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
That changes everything.
The goal of discipleship is not becoming a better version of ourselves.
The goal is becoming more like Jesus.
Fruit is never manufactured.
It grows.
A branch does not strain to produce apples.
It stays connected to the tree.
The life within produces what can be seen without.
That is why fruit is evidence.
Not the cause of salvation.
The evidence of salvation.
This distinction matters.
We are not saved because we produce fruit.
We produce fruit because we have been united to Christ through faith.
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8–9).
But the grace that saves us also begins to change us.
James reminds us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17), not because works save us, but because genuine faith always bears evidence of life.
Healthy roots produce healthy fruit.
This is why I titled this week’s newsletter,
The Fruit That Reveals the Root.
Fruit reveals what the root already is.
Jesus said,
“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
— Matthew 7:16 (KJV)
Notice He did not say,
“You shall know them by their gifts.”
Gifts can impress people.
Fruit reflects Christ.
He did not say,
“You shall know them by their knowledge.”
Knowledge is important, but knowledge alone can become pride.
He did not say,
“You shall know them by their platform.”
He said,
“By their fruits.”
That ought to cause every one of us to pause.
Because the question is not,
“How much do I know?”
The question is,
“Am I becoming more like Jesus?”
Am I quicker to forgive than I was last year?
Am I more patient with difficult people?
Am I slower to become angry?
Am I more humble?
Am I more gentle?
Am I growing in self-control?
Would the people closest to me say they see more of Christ in me today than they did a year ago?
Those are discipleship questions.
Paul describes this fruit beautifully.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…”
— Galatians 5:22–23 (KJV)
Notice Paul does not say,
“The fruits…”
He says,
“The fruit.”
These qualities belong together because they are the character of Christ being formed within the believer through the Holy Spirit.
This is the work of sanctification.
The Father prunes.
The Son gives life.
The Spirit produces fruit.
The Christian abides.
Even here we see the beautiful work of our triune God.
The Father lovingly removes what hinders growth.
The Son remains the source of all spiritual life.
The Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ.
None of us produce holiness on our own.
It is God’s work from beginning to end.
That should both humble us and encourage us.
There is another part of John 15 that often makes us uncomfortable.
Jesus says,
“Every branch in me that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”
— John 15:2 (KJV)
The Father prunes healthy branches.
Pruning is not punishment.
It is preparation.
Sometimes God removes good things so that better things may grow.
Sometimes He cuts away distractions.
Sometimes He exposes pride.
Sometimes He allows difficult seasons that deepen our dependence upon Him.
No branch enjoys pruning.
But every fruitful branch benefits from it.
Looking back over my own walk with Christ, I can see seasons that I never would have chosen. At the time, they felt painful and confusing. Yet those were often the very seasons the Lord used to expose what was in my heart, teach me to depend on Him, and shape me more into the likeness of His Son.
Perhaps you are in a season like that now.
If so, do not assume God has abandoned you.
He may be pruning you because He loves you.
The Father is too wise to waste your pain and too faithful to leave you where you are.
So let me leave you with this question:
When people look at your life…
What kind of fruit do they see?
Not perfection.
None of us have arrived.
But is there growing evidence that Christ is changing you?
Because at the end of the day, the greatest testimony of a disciple is not how loudly they speak about Jesus.
It is how clearly the life of Jesus is seen in them.
May our roots be planted deeply in Christ.
May we abide in Him daily.
And may our lives bear fruit that brings glory to the Father.
As Jesus Himself said,
“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
— John 15:8 (KJV)
Take a few quiet moments with the Lord this week and ask Him to search your heart.
What fruit has He been producing in your life?
Is there an area where He is pruning you?
Rather than resisting His work, ask Him to help you abide more deeply in Christ, trusting that the Gardener always knows what will bring the greatest growth
Until next time,keep learning, keep growing, and keep staying near to Christ.
Randy Faulkner
The Learning Disciple