Abide | Part 3
Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” That is such a powerful picture of our relationship with God. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and God the Father is the gardener. The branch doesn't have the ability to produce fruit on its own. It has to stay connected to the vine. The same is true for you and me. If we want to live a life that honors God, if we want to grow spiritually, and if we want to make a difference in the lives of people around us, we have to stay connected to Jesus.
I believe God wants every one of us to live a fruitful life. He doesn't want us to remain where we are. In John 15, Jesus talks about fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and fruit that remains. Do you see the progression? God wants us to keep growing, keep developing, and keep becoming more like Christ. But here's something we need to understand. The fruit God is looking for isn't just about what we accomplish. It's about who we are becoming.
As leaders, we can become so focused on results, goals, growth, and success that we forget where real fruit comes from. We can build organizations, develop teams, accomplish great things, and still neglect the most important relationship in our lives. Jesus makes it clear that the secret to a fruitful life isn't simply working harder. It is abiding in Him.
Your Fruit Reveals What You're Connected To
One of the first things we need to understand about fruit is that it always carries the character of the tree it comes from. You don't find apples growing on pear trees. You don't find bananas growing on berry bushes. The character of the tree determines the nature of the fruit.
The same principle applies to our lives. If I'm connected to Christ, my life should begin to reflect His character. People should see His love, His patience, His kindness, His goodness, and His self control operating in me. Galatians 5:22 and 23 tells us about the fruit of the Spirit. Those qualities should become more evident in our lives as we grow in our relationship with God.
Think about that in the marketplace. When somebody treats you unfairly, how do you respond? When an employee makes a mistake, do you react in anger or respond with patience? When somebody criticizes your leadership, do you become defensive, or do you demonstrate humility? When you have an opportunity to compromise your integrity for personal gain, what do you choose?
Those moments reveal what we're connected to.
It's easy to talk about being a Christian. It's another thing to demonstrate the character of Christ when we're under pressure. People should be able to look at our lives and recognize that something is different about us. Not because we're constantly telling them we're Christians, but because our actions, attitudes, and decisions reflect the One we're following.
Here's something else we need to remember. Just as being connected to the right source produces the right fruit, being connected to the wrong things can produce the wrong fruit. That's why we have to be intentional about what we're allowing to influence our thinking, our attitudes, and our decisions. What we continually expose ourselves to will eventually begin to show up in our lives.
Your Fruit Should Be Visible
The second characteristic of good fruit is that it's visible. You don't have to convince somebody that an apple tree is producing apples when they can see the apples hanging from its branches.
The same should be true of our relationship with Christ.
People should see our love. They should see our kindness. They should see our generosity. They should see the way we honor others and treat people with respect. They should see integrity in our decisions and excellence in our work.
I believe this is especially important for leaders because leadership is influence. People are watching how we respond, how we communicate, how we handle disappointment, and how we treat those who cannot do anything for us.
We can tell our teams that integrity matters, but do they see integrity in us? We can talk about excellence, but do they see us pursuing excellence? We can encourage people to be patient and understanding, but are we demonstrating those same qualities when things don't go according to plan?
The fruit of our lives should support the words coming out of our mouths.
Jesus said in John 15:8 that the Father is glorified when we bear much fruit. That means our lives can bring glory to God through the way we live and lead every day.
Your Fruit Is Meant to Benefit Others
The third characteristic of fruit is that it exists for the benefit of somebody else. Think about an apple growing on a tree. That apple isn't there to feed the tree. It's there to nourish somebody else.
God never intended for our lives to be centered only around ourselves.
Sometimes people become so consumed with their own success, their own goals, their own recognition, and their own accomplishments that they forget the purpose of fruit. The fruit God produces in our lives is meant to bless other people.
That's a powerful leadership principle.
Why has God given you influence? Why has He entrusted you with opportunities, resources, gifts, and abilities? It isn't simply so you can build a bigger name for yourself. It's so you can make a difference in the lives of others.
If you're leading a business, your leadership should benefit your employees, your customers, and your community. If you're managing a team, the people you lead should become better because of your influence. If you're raising a family, your children should benefit from the character and example you demonstrate.
The question isn't just, "How successful am I becoming?" The greater question is, "Who is becoming better because of the fruit my life is producing?"
When we're abiding in Christ, our lives become a source of encouragement, strength, wisdom, and blessing to others.
Good Fruit Reproduces Itself
The fourth characteristic of fruit is that it naturally reproduces.
Think about an apple. Inside that one apple are seeds with the potential to produce more apple trees. The fruit doesn't just exist for the present. It carries the potential for future growth.
That's what God wants to do through our lives.
When we're connected to Christ, our influence should multiply. We should be helping others grow in their faith, develop their character, discover their purpose, and become everything God created them to be.
Proverbs 11:30 tells us that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and that the one who wins souls is wise.
As Christian leaders, we have opportunities every day to influence people who may never walk through the doors of a church. They work alongside us. They sit in our meetings. They are our employees, coworkers, customers, and business partners.
What kind of influence are we having on them?
We don't have to force our faith into every conversation. But when we're genuinely connected to Christ, His character begins to show through our lives. People notice the difference. They see the way we handle pressure, the way we treat others, and the way we respond when things go wrong.
Our fruit can create opportunities to share the hope we have in Jesus.
Put God's Word at the Center of Your Life
So how do we produce this kind of fruit? How do we develop the character of Christ and become the leaders God wants us to be?
The first thing we have to do is put God's Word at the center of our lives.
The Bible isn't just a collection of stories or a book of good advice. It is the inspired Word of God. It should be the foundation for our beliefs, our values, our priorities, and our decisions.
We live in a world where everybody has an opinion. Culture is constantly changing. Social media tells us what we should think. The news tells us what we should fear. People around us try to influence what we believe.
But as followers of Christ, our values shouldn't be determined by whatever happens to be popular. Our values should come from God's Word.
That includes our leadership.
Before I make a decision, I want to know what God's Word says. Before I respond to a difficult situation, I want to make sure my response lines up with Scripture. Before I adopt a new philosophy or leadership principle, I want to make sure it doesn't contradict the truth of God's Word.
Jesus said in John 14:23 that those who love Him will keep His Word. When we treasure His Word, we demonstrate that our relationship with Him is a priority.
Don't Just Know the Word. Obey It.
The second way we abide in Christ is by obeying His Word.
It's possible to know a lot about the Bible and still not allow it to change our lives. We can memorize Scripture, listen to sermons, attend conferences, and read Christian books, but if we're not applying what we're learning, we're missing the point.
Jesus said in John 15:10 that if we keep His commandments, we will abide in His love.
That means obedience matters.
When God's Word tells me to forgive somebody who hurt me, I have to forgive. When it tells me to love my enemies, I have to love them. When it tells me to walk in integrity, I have to be honest even when nobody is watching.
I can't pick and choose which parts of God's Word I want to follow based on what's convenient for me.
As leaders, this requires humility. There will be times when obeying God means making a difficult decision. It may mean admitting we were wrong. It may mean changing the way we're leading. It may mean letting go of something that isn't honoring Him.
But every time we choose obedience, we're strengthening our connection with the Lord.
The goal isn't simply to become more knowledgeable about God. The goal is to become more like Him.
Spend Time in His Presence
The third way we abide in Christ is by spending time with Him.
The Greek word used for abide is meno. It carries the idea of remaining, dwelling, and continuing. It means staying close rather than coming and going whenever it's convenient.
Think about any meaningful relationship in your life. You don't develop a strong marriage by spending time with your spouse once every six weeks. You don't build a close relationship with your children by talking to them only when you need something. Relationships grow through time spent together.
Our relationship with God is no different.
I love the picture we see in the Old Testament with Moses and Joshua. Moses would spend time with God in the tabernacle, but Joshua didn't want to leave. He lingered in the presence of the Lord.
What a powerful example for us.
Too often we're in a hurry. We have meetings to attend, deadlines to meet, responsibilities to manage, and people who need our attention. We rush through our prayers, hurry through our Bible reading, and move on to the next thing.
But abiding means making room for God's presence in our everyday lives.
It means talking to Him throughout the day. It means acknowledging Him before making decisions. It means spending time in His Word, not just to complete a reading plan, but because we genuinely want to know Him better.
The more time we spend with Jesus, the more we begin to understand His heart. We begin to love what He loves. We begin to see people the way He sees them. Our attitudes and priorities begin to change.
And as our relationship with Him grows, the fruit begins to develop naturally.
Don't Settle for a Partial Relationship With God
One of the greatest challenges we face is wanting the benefits of a relationship with God without fully surrendering our lives to Him.
We want His blessings, His wisdom, His peace, and His provision, but sometimes we're hesitant to give Him complete control. It's like getting into a cold plunge. You can stand there with your toes in the water, trying to decide whether you want to go any further. You can slowly step in and pull back because it's uncomfortable. But if you're going to fully participate, eventually you have to make the decision to get in.
The same is true spiritually.
We can't expect to experience everything God has for us while keeping Him at a distance. We can't make Him one of many priorities and expect our lives to produce the kind of fruit Jesus describes in John 15.
He has to be our priority.
That doesn't mean we abandon our responsibilities in the marketplace. It means we invite Him into every part of our lives. We take Him into our workplaces, our meetings, our relationships, and our decisions.
Jesus doesn't want to be someone we visit occasionally. He wants an ongoing relationship with us.
And here's the beautiful thing. When we're focused on staying connected to Him, we don't have to spend our lives struggling to manufacture spiritual fruit. Just as a branch produces fruit by remaining connected to the vine, our lives become fruitful as we remain connected to Christ.
Leadership Challenge
This week, I want you to take an honest look at the fruit your life and leadership are producing. Ask yourself, "Are people seeing the character of Christ in me? Are the people around me benefiting from my influence? Am I helping others grow, or am I so focused on my own success that I've forgotten about them?"
Then evaluate your relationship with God's Word. Is it truly the foundation of your decisions and values, or are you allowing other voices to have greater influence? Choose one area where you know God's Word is calling you to make a change, and commit to obeying it.
Finally, make spending time with Jesus a priority every day. Don't wait until you're facing a crisis to seek Him. Spend time in His Word. Talk to Him throughout your day. Invite Him into your leadership decisions. Learn to enjoy His presence instead of approaching Him only when you need something.
Remember, the character of the tree determines the nature of the fruit. If you want your life to produce the character of Christ, you have to remain connected to Christ.
Don't settle for a relationship with God that only touches part of your life. Go all in. Make Him your priority. Stay connected to the vine, and allow His presence to transform the way you live, lead, and influence others.
The more we abide in Christ, the more our lives will produce fruit that brings glory to God and makes a difference in the lives of others.