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Fruit-Bearing Branches, May 18
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every
branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth
more fruit.
John 15:1, 2
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The Saviour ... points out the sign of discipleship: “Herein is my
Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.” By
faith we are to lay hold on a living God, and maintain an experience that
shall breathe love, tenderness, kindness, compassion, and affection. These
traits of character are the fruit that the Lord Jesus desires us to produce,
and to present before the world as a witness that we have a Saviour who
can uplift and who can satisfy.... We need not be on the losing side, for in
everything He is our sufficiency.
What we need is the presence of Jesus Christ. We want His truth
shining in our hearts, pervading all our life actions. This will determine
whether or not we are branches of the True Vine. If we are fruit-bearing
branches we may expect that the Great Husbandman will prune us, that
we may bring forth more fruit. All that is useless, all that would hinder
our growth in the Christian life, must be removed.
When the purging comes, we frequently feel that the Lord is against
us. Instead of this we should look to ourselves and see if there is not
something we have left undone or something we need to take away from
our lives before we can stand in right relation to God....
We must be living branches of the True Vine, daily laying hold of our
Redeemer that we may bear the fruits of a Christian character.... When
we are willing to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice, as Christ practiced
it in His life, we shall bear fruit to God’s glory.
It is the Saviour’s delight to see His followers colaborers with God,
receiving bountifully all the means of fruit bearing, and giving bountifully,
as workers under Him. Christ glorified His Father by the fruit He bore,
and the lives of His true followers will produce the same result. Receiving
and imparting, His workers will produce much fruit.
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