Speaking of fruit, now would be a great time to explore what Christ means by "fruit" in his allegory. Scholars have explored this question for quite some time, and have come to a few different conclusions. Some suggest that the fruit Jesus reffers to is the fruit that comes from bearing witness, or the fruit of evangelism. Others have suggested that Jesus was referring to the ethical virtues characteristic of the Christian life. It seems as though the verse refers to a combination of both. Verses 7-17 suggest that the chief characteristics of one who bears fruit are a knowledge of God (v. 15), and love (v. 9-14). And finally, Jesus ends the passage with the final command to love one another (v.17).

     While I do not have the space in this article to explore each of these verses in detail, I do want to specifically take a look at verse 17, which reads, "This is my command: Love each other." (John 15:17). 1 Corinthians 13 explains and stresses the importance of love (which will soon be the topic of another post). When we read verses 9-14 of John 15 in light of 1 Corinthians 13, we find that love is the key to ministry. The effectiveness of your ministry is almost always directly correlated to the relationship you have with that person. The greatest form of ministry is simply living a life that is the extension of God's love into the lives of other people; living as a parable of Christ.

     How much more effective would your ministry be if you kept in mind that ministry is akin to Christlikeness? What if the key method behind your ministry was to share the love of God through a lifestyle of mercy and redemption? For "...No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4)

     May God richly bless your ministry, in any form that it may take. Whether it be giving a cold cup of water to one of His loved ones, or preaching the Good News at a Billy Graham Crusade, may you share the love of God with everyone you meet!

     - Article by Kenaniah Cerny

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