As I read a modern paraphrase of John 15:1-8, I began to reconsider my concept of what it means to be a fruitful Christian. Jesus said, “I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of Me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing He prunes back so it will bear even more” (The Message by Eugene Peterson).

Grapes—they’re the result of the life of the vine flowing through the branches. So often I have viewed fruitfulness in the Christian life as activities such as teaching Sunday school or leading a Bible study. These acts of service are good and worthwhile, but Jesus said that being fruitful is allowing His life to flow through me: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (v.4). No one can bear “grapes” without being connected to Christ, the Vine. Fruitfulness is not primarily a matter of what I accomplish. It’s the result of my being in close fellowship with Him.

Whenever you wonder if you’re being a “fruitful” Christian, ask yourself, “Am I like Jesus? Is His life flowing through me in the ordinary activities and relationships of each day? Do the ‘grapes’ of my life point others to the Vine?”