Did my title get your attention? I hope so, because it was designed to. I suppose we all want to be successful, even if sometimes we’re not sure what that might look like. In different arenas of life it would be defined in very different ways. Sadly, in many aspects of life in the consumer, commercially driven west it is defined by either significant popularity or financial wealth.
Yet there is much more to a successful life. And this is certainly the case for a follower of Jesus. Recently I have been spending time meditating on John 15, a very well known passage. I have seen again how Jesus uses the imagery of a vine to teach his disciples the principles of fruitfulness. This, I believe, is Jesus’ teaching on the pathway to a successful life. However, he doesn’t define fruitfulness for us in specific ways. Maybe we begin to see this more clearly as we read on in the New Testament and discover what grows from these men’s lives as they live out what Jesus is teaching them here.
David Pawson has observed that…“one of the reasons why Jesus was such a good teacher was that he used visual aids. He often used something simple to make a profound statement.”[1] That is certainly the case here in John 15, as it’s full of imagery and a delight to the imaginative student or preacher. I, however, want to try not to get overly caught up in the myriad of horticultural illustrations, though there will obviously be some, but focus most specifically on the main message of this particular passage, which is fruitfulness.
In the first four verses of John 15 Jesus clearly identifies some simple principles for his disciples that can make the most of the life he has given them. Yet before he unpacks those, he establishes some contextual facts that are obvious to anyone who really pauses in the midst of the imagery and thinks about it.
Firstly, fruitfulness is the occupation of the gardener (farmer or vinedresser depending on your preference for Bible versions). Of coarse its obvious. We all know that a gardener doesn’t just work hard on his or her garden without an expectation of the benefits of flowers and fruit. But when we begin to translate and apply the imagery to our own lives it takes on very different proportions.
However uncomfortable it might make us feel, the bottom line is that God is looking for a return from our lives. He has invested so much in all that he has created and established and is expecting that you and I, the recipients of his grace and goodness, would be a source of significant fruitfulness in the much bigger context of his kingdom purposes. Just a cursory glance at other major themes in the teaching of Jesus backs up this idea. Whether it’s the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23) or the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Jesus didn’t shy away from creating the clear understanding that God is committed to harvesting more than he has sown or making a greater profit on his investments.
Now before you get too anxious that the pressure is being built up on you to be a producer of far more than you think you are capable of, you really do need to hang in there for the full picture of what Jesus is saying in John 15. It does get better when you see how Jesus taught his disciples how they can ensure greater degrees of fruitfulness in their lives. The principle of fruitfulness is far less dependent upon an individual’s best efforts than you might think, and far more dependent upon the strength of their connection to the vine, to Jesus. I will examine the principle of ‘remaining’ in a future article, but for this moment I hope you are encouraged to know that if you’ve not felt up to your best recently, you can still be fruitful.
I suppose the main thing I’m trying to say is that we should not be surprised that God is committed to fruitfulness. In fact I’d suggest he gave us plenty of evidence that this is who he is, as much as how he works, in the earliest portion of scripture. The principles of fruitfulness are there in Genesis 1, as clear as anything.
Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened.
Can you see it? It’s there in that phrase ‘seed-bearing fruit’. The first created plants were not just there for the beautifying of Eden, or even for the tasty satisfaction of Adam and Eve’s appetite. They were there to enable a continual cycle of fruitfulness. They were not just the fruit of provision for Adam, they were the seeds of provision for his descendants. God looks for fruitfulness as a result of all of his works. And so it’s no surprise that Jesus introduces the Almighty as the gardener. The one who expects to harvest from what he has sown.
But the second, slightly more uncomfortable, fact is that fruitfulness is the purpose of the vine. This is really important because in a hermeneutical and exegetical way it explains the verses that follow and the imagery Jesus uses of cutting off and pruning. Few of us would get upset at the thought of a plant, bush or tree being pruned or having branches lopped off. We might be more concerned when we move from metaphor to application and realise that Jesus is talking about us. Our lives. Our behaviours. Our attitudes. Our relationships. He is talking about how to make good disciples successful ones. How to ensure more fruitfulness.
I’ve been around long enough to have heard church members wax lyrical about the awesome word preached on Sunday morning, or the amazing sense of God’s presence that filled the room as we shared communion. But you and I know that real discipleship is demonstrated in the changes that result from such moments together, and more significantly the ability to hear God speak to our inner lives and respond accordingly.
We were made to be fruitful.
John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit.
Never let popularity, acclaim or recognition take the place of fruitfulness. I am convinced that earthly applause will not echo in eternity. I have watched the elevation of Pentecostal and Charismatic stars, and grieved with you when some of them fell hard too. No, eternities applause is reserved for those who are faithful and fruitful. And that is where I derive that sense of what success is.
Matthew 25:21 The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
The success of your life will be measured on very different scales than are used by many today. The fruit you bear now will count when your life gets weighed then, in the kingdom to come. I’m sometimes left wondering whether the fruits of unseen service will weigh heavier than the fruits of popular acclaim.
But however the scales tip I know this – he has made me (and you!) capable of bearing much fruit. And I really want to know how I can be increasingly more fruitful as I trust the gardener with the potential of my life.
[1] David Pawson, Commentary on the Gospel of John. (Anchor recordings Limited, 2014).