.....fruit

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples John 15:8

It would be easy to think fruit-bearing exists mainly for our benefit — proof to ourselves that our faith is real, or evidence to show others. But Jesus points the purpose somewhere else entirely: the Father's glory. Fruit isn't primarily about our validation. It's about making the Father visible through a life connected to His Son.

This reframes what fruitfulness is for. A branch heavy with grapes doesn't draw attention to the branch — it draws attention to the vine that made such fruit possible in the first place.

Jesus makes a striking claim about the order of things: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain John 15:16

Fruitfulness isn't something we volunteered for out of our own ambition — it was His initiative from the start. And notice the phrase "that your fruit should remain." This isn't fruit that impresses for a season and fades. It's fruit with staying power, because it's rooted in a connection that doesn't run dry.

Paul gives us the clearest inventory of what this fruit actually looks like when it grows: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23, it's called *fruit*, singular in effect though plural in description — one harvest with many characteristics, all growing from the same root. None of these traits are manufactured separately through isolated effort. They grow together, from the same abiding life.

Ellen White ties this vision of fruitfulness back to its constant source: "Christ is the vine; the branches are to bear the fruit of the vine, not fruit of their own growth, but of the life and power of Christ flowing through them." Steps to Christ, p. 68

A Question to Sit With, which fruit of the Spirit do you sense growing in you right now simply because you've been staying closer to Christ — not because you tried to produce it?

Father, may my life bear fruit that glorifies You, not myself. Thank You for choosing me for this before I ever chose You. Let the fruit that grows in me be lasting, rooted in Your life flowing through mine. In Jesus' name,