I am sure everyone here knows what this is –a Mandarin “Christmas” Orange. These have been a staple in our household every year ever since I can remember. Getting these oranges each year at Christmas was a special treat. When I was kid we always got these oranges on Christmas morning, there were one or two in our stocking, always at the toe.
One of the good things about them was that they were seedless. They were sweet, juicy and refreshing, but the thing I remember most is they were seedless. And we have come along in our society to have several fruits that are like that –seedless. There are bananas, grapes and watermelon and I am sure probably a few others that are around. We like the pleasure and ease of eating our fruit without having to stop and spit out the seeds, to bite into a juicy piece of fruit without the irritation of the seed. But you know something –these types of fruits are aberrations –they are not natural. We have engineered through selective breeding and sometimes through genetic alteration fruit that are really freaks in nature .
When I was in high school biology I can remember having the teacher stand in front of the class and talk about how fruit are the plants way of getting it’s seeds scattered around. The tree would produce an enticing sweet shell which surrounded its seeds so that some animal would come along, eat the enticing shell, swallow the seeds as well, then at a later time would expel the remains –largely the seeds, at a different location. Mr. Pike would stand up and say, “How does it feel to be fooled by a plant to do it’s work?”
Well, we know that is how God created things to be. But he also created different fruits for us to enjoy and benefit from as part of our diet. But the idea is still the same –the plant makes this fleshy tasty outer shell to surround the seed so that its seeds will be scattered and continue to make the plant to continue on for future plant generations. It is the way they regenerate and propagate. The purpose of the plant is not in producing the fleshy outer shell, the purpose of the plant is producing seed. If the plant existed just to produce the sweet outer shell and flesh, how would it continue to exist? That is why seedless oranges and grapes and watermelons are aberrations. They cannot survive in nature, not without intervention such as grafting.
Trees, vines, plants, produce seeds. They are created by God to reproduce (read Genesis 1:11-13). The fleshy part is to be attractive to us so that we carry the seeds and place them elsewhere in order to reproduce more of that plant or vine. The purpose of the plant in producing the seed is reproduction, making more of itself.
This helps me to understand what Jesus may be intending when he talks about His being the vine and we are the branches, and as branches we are to bear fruit. Often we look at this passage and we read into it Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruit of the spirit –love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self control. But is that what Jesus is referring to here?
I think that as good as these things are, these fruit of the Spirit, they are more of the skin, the fleshy part of what people see and desire. After all, who would not look at these fruit in our lives and go –I want some of that! I want peace in my life, I want joy in my life, I want patience and goodness and love. But is that really what we offer? No, this appealing outer layer has the purpose spreading the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came to this earth for a purpose, to bring the god news to us Mark 1 reads that he went throughout the region of Galilee preaching and teaching this message of good news, that people would hear and come to know the salvation of God. In Luke 4 Jesus is standing in front of the people in the synagogue and he reads from Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him and he is to preach the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, release the oppressed and proclaim the ear of the Lord. (18-19). Later, when he had been healing people and laying hands on them and people wanted him stay and keep doing this (the attraction stuff), he said, no, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God! (43).” And this is the directive he gave us –to go into the world and preach the good news (Mark 15:16).
And so, the seed for me is Christ-likeness. Our goal, our purpose, is to more and more conformed to the image of Christ. Becoming more like Jesus Christ and doing the things He did –fulfilling his purpose of growing the kingdom, spreading the good news. Becoming more Christ-like. Sounds ominous and daunting –at least to me. How can I become Christ –like? Well, I can’t. And that brings us back to the passage in John 15. We cannot do it on our own. Rather we are to be tied into the vine, into the source –Christ Himself.
Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches, the father is the gardener. Remain in me and I in you, no branch can bear fruit by itself, is must remain in the vine. (15:1,4). The fruit of Christ-likeness, that seed which grows to become more and more like Jesus, must be connected to the vine. To bear the fruit of Christ-likeness we must be attached to the vine (vs. 5). In this we grow and flourish become more like Him.
Jesus, in the verses surrounding this teaching on the vine, promises his disciples that he will give them his Spirit. This Spirit, His Spirit, will be with us to teach us, comfort us, guide us, secure us in Him. He further says He will give us His love, His peace, His joy that is beyond the understanding of this world (cf 14:25-27).
When we accept that our God is righteous, holy and sovereign over al things and that we are fallen, sinful creatures who are separated from this holy God because of our unrighteousness, when we see our need for radical change, for a new heart, a new relationship with God and tat only through Jesus Christ is that change possible –that He died for our sins and made an atonement, a final and complete payment for our sins, when we confess and repent and become attached to the vine –then he begins to grow in us. Salvation is not just saying I am sorry to God but salvation is radically changing our lives to become more like Jesus Christ. This is called sanctification –the progressive working of the Spirit in our lives to more and more make us free from sin and more and more like Christ in our actual lives (Grudem, pg. 746).
Jesus does not just save us to look good –to have joy and peace and self control and all the other outward things, but he saves us and works in us to sanctify us. That is why he gave us His Spirit and why he continually says, obey what I command, just as he, Jesus, did what the father commanded him (14:31; 15:17). We are to do as Jesus did –seek first and foremost the glory of God, live a life that is on obedience to God, become more and more like Christ and to fulfill his purpose –tell the good news!
One of the true purposes of the vine producing branches that are fruitful is not so that there can be an appealing, eye catching sweet object –but to produce something that will reproduce, make more.
The things we call the fruit of the Spirit all emerge out of our life in Christ. A part of their appeal is that –to be appealing, to attract people to Christ. And in that the good news can be shared with them and they can become grow in the vine. Our purpose in life is not just to bear fruit but to be fruitful –to multiply, to bring others closer to God through our fruit, through our words, our deeds, our lives, our hope. The fruit of the Spirit is a testimony of the working of Christ in is through Hi Spirit so that we may be able to give a reason for the hope we have, n opportunity to share the good news, a chance to bring someone closer to the God Who made them, loves them, came as Immanuel, died for them and rose again to return for them.
I love these oranges. But ultimately, they are just nice, sweet unproductive mutants. Their real purpose, to produce seeds and to produce more has been lost. Sadly, many Christians are like that, or are becoming like that. In fact the church as a whole is somewhat like that isn’t it. We try to be appealing but we lack the true inner fruit –Christ-likeness, and we lack his purpose –to share the good news –spread the gospel.
This morning as you leave there will be available for those who desire, one of these fruit. Take it an ponder as you eat it –am I fruitless, seedless? Or do I desire to be fruitfull?
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