The Christian’s purpose in life is to bear lasting fruit of faith and love. This next passage points that out and is a fitting conclusion to our look at “By Their Fruit.”
John15: 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit– fruit that will last– and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Abide in Christ, produce His fruit.
The Christian’s entire “purpose driven life” is stated in verse 16-17.
If you’re a Christian, you’ve been appointed. Be faithful. Just do it.
It’s your calling to love others as Jesus loved you.
The fruit that lasts is love, the visible evidence in our actions of our heart’s hidden faith. You may have heard the song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love…” or have heard that we can only bring 3 things into heaven: our testimony, our works of love, and other people who became disciples. Any other fruit may disappear when our work is tested by fire. Your job? Gone. Your investments? Gone. Your home decorating, cooking blog, or Etsy handiwork? Gone. Your exotic cars, your luxury wardrobe, your career? Gone! The earth? Gone!
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 12 tells us “the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”
Yet, if social media is any indication, most people’s work won’t survive.
Years ago, I was on a platform called “AllExperts” answering people’s questions about the Bible and the Christian life. One day, out of nowhere the new owners obliterated the entire site. There was no way to go back to retrieve or archive my eighteen years of work that people searched and valued. It was gone. In a flash. I was devastated.
But then, I prayerfully adopted a different view. You see, all I have today on earth to show for that season (on this side of heaven) are the handful of people from around the world who I met there and still count as friends. When the Day brings my work to light, these people stand as testimony of my work. It partially explains why I value them so much.
So what about you? What will withstand the fire of testing as your lasting fruit of love?