09/25/2026
Are we bearing spiritual fruit, and is that fruit glorifying God? Is it just tasty and pleasing to His palette, or is there more to the idea of fruit in the Bible, and in our relationship with God? I believe there is more, and all we must do to realize this is to look around us at nature... God’s creation, and then read scripture once more.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
John 15:5, 8 ESV
When we read scripture such as this we envision tasty apples, oranges, mangos, grapes and many other types of fruit. We think of how good they are, and how good they are for our bodies as well. But their purpose is a symbiotic one in scripture, and the fruit of trees and plants is not meant to simply please and feed us, but to solicit others to help the plant spread its seed.
I am going to call on the Toucan as an example of symbiosis today because they are so large and beautiful, but many animals and birds are fruit eaters. The Toucan just happens to eat oranges, figs, and some of the same fruits we like. When they feed they eat the flesh of the fruit, and drop its seeds to the forest floor, or excrete them in their feces. Either way they spread the seeds throughout the forest. This is how the population of plants and trees continues to thrive, and it also ensures that the Toucan population will have food for future generations.
Although we don’t like to think of ourselves in this way, we are just like the Toucan. As we eat fruit we perform the exact same function for the plants, but instead of calling it something crude like defecating, we tend to concentrate on such terms as planting, cultivating, and harvesting. Nonetheless, we are securing the future of the plant and our food source... just like the Toucan.
So, when we as Christians are referred to as bearing fruit what is the Bible saying? We tend to think it means that we are producing something tasty, delicious, and worthwhile for our Heavenly Father’s table. And, yes we are, but that is only part of why we are called the fruit of the vine, and told in other scripture to bear much fruit. We are indeed bringing forth food for God’s table, but also for others, so by doing this we are spreading the gospel and bringing Glory to God, through the spiritual nourishment of sinners... those who are not yet dining at His table. Has this thought struck you before, and if it has, have you merely envisioned your fruit as tasty with a delicious texture and aroma that pleases God? Did you imagine food that was nobly ingested as the Lord dined, but whose seed was never defecated to the forest floor; never really perpetuating the plant?
As vines, and branches we produce fruit, but for our fruit to be more than a momentary delight for the senses it must be ingested, digested, and the seed returned to the ground so that it can perpetuate the plant that it is from.
“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
Matthew 7:16 ESV
So here we go... we sprout and grow then produce fruit... or in other words…do works. Jesus spoke to us about bearing fruit, but also about how we should treat the seeds of that fruit. The Toucan doesn’t think much about where it drops the seed of the fruit it consumes, but we are taught a great deal about how and where we are to plant our seed, listen to the parable of the Sower...
“And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."”
Mark 4:4-8 ESV
Scripture teaches us that we are about more than just producing a single spiritual meal; we are to be fruitful in abundance. If we are not then our future is a very different one...
“Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"”
Luke 13:9 ESV
We are meant to reproduce, but more than in the biological sense of man and woman. We are meant to reproduce in a spiritual way... and in so doing, to Glorify God... to secure the future of God’s children by producing spiritual fruit that attracts others to eat of it, and thus to win souls, and we do this so that those souls might also drop the seed they have eaten. Ingesting spiritual seed and never dropping it to grow another vine makes us useless... spiritually deficient; subject to being culled.
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV
So, we are plants meant to bear fruit. We were planted by another who cast our seed onto fertile ground as Jesus instructed, and there we were watered, but only God has given us life and eternal purpose. Now it is up to us to bear fruit, and to glorify Him. It is up to us to entice the toucans to eat, and thus to spread the seed of faith. What is our fruit, and how is our seed spread?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the breath of life in my lungs, and for breathing your Holy Spirit into me. Help me Lord to bear much fruit so that your table will always be full of the bounty you desire. Fertilize the ground beneath my feet, and give me rain to fill out the fruit of my branches that has germinated within the blossoms there. I thank you for your Word and the ability to look at your amazing creation as an aid in understanding my own purpose. You are the great provider, and your Son Jesus the vine from which I sprout. This is the continuation of spiritual life that you have set in motion, just as the grapes and oranges are the continuation of earthly life. As my fruit matures I pray that it is pleasing to you Holy Father, and irresistible to the sinners and less fortunate who surround me. Let the beauty of my leaves, and the goodness of my fruit nourish many, and bring them to you. This Father I do for your Glory, and to this end I dedicate myself, and assign my bountiful harvest. Praised be your name Heavenly Father, because you are the Master of our Table. Let the wind and the rain that you send nourish me, and then cause my fruit to fall into waiting hands. I never want to give you cause to sever my branch Holy Father or to yield so little fruit that you would find it necessary to pare me back... to prune me from the vine. Holy, Holy, Holy are you the Master of the Garden, and the Head of the table, you are the partaker of our fruit, and thus you allow us to share the goodness of your harvest with all who seek you. Praised be your name always!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
“9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your carts overflow with plenty.
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.”
Psalm 65:9-13 CSB
Amen!
Rich Forbes