Day 17 – Fruit of the vine

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Faher has loved me. Remain in my love.’ John 15:8-9

After Jesus explained the importance of fruit-bearing by abiding in the true grapevine and called those who produce much fruit – His disciples, He talks about love. The first fruit of the Holy Spirit is listed by Paul in the Epistle Galatians. Love. Not just a verb, but a fruit produced through the obedience of God’s Word and the actions of us, His true disciples.

Abiding in the Vine means remaining in the love of Jesus. It was because of love He was birthed to us and it was because of love He chose to be the sacrifice for us sinners. Our response to His love should be to love others in such a way that it is a visible fruit to God and others. We cannot accomplish anything without love even though it is hard at times. I do not feel like loving the driver who cut me off in traffic, but one day it occurred to me that if everyone curses the taxi driver – how many curses does he have over him? Keeping my temper at bay and rather blessing him becomes a fruit of love. The fruit of love is in the small details of our actions adding to the fruit of the vine the Gardener harvests.

We cannot claim to be true disciples of Jesus, bringing great glory to our Father, if we neglect to remain the love of Jesus and to mimic His love to others around us.

Prayer: Father, thank You that Jesus gave us an example of the first fruit of the Holy Spirit: Love. May our love towards others be a fruit showing our love of You and our neighbors. Teach us the small details of fruit-bearing so we can implement them in our lives and our ministries.