> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://brewedfaith.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Need to Be Fruitful - URL: https://brewedfaith.ca/the-need-to-be-fruitful/ - Published: 2021-02-01T17:06:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-14T04:50:32.000Z - Author: Tim Gibb - Tags: Who Are We?, fruitful, identity, Jesus, John 15, Vine and Branches, #Migrated-1786683019158, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-14 00:50 Jesus said, “I am the true vine”. What a statement of truth and profound significance. In making this statement to his disciples the night he was betrayed and the night before he would be crucified he made clear his purpose and the direction that his life and existence would take. He would be ever connected to us, his church and his people. The statement seals his commitment to us that would be made complete in his sacrifice on the cross. He is our way to the Father, the only way to the Father, and through him can and will have life. If you haven’t already heard the initial sermon, here is the [Link](https://vimeo.com/506098314?utm%5Fsource=email&utm%5Fmedium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm%5Fcampaign=29220). I would encourage you to take a listen. Beyond the three main themes that we connect in the message (Jesus is the only way and God makes it possible, fruit is the way that we demonstrate our discipleship, and fruit comes through remaining), there are a few other important pieces that come of the passage of John 15 that help us understand that our identity is found in the fruit that we produce for God’s glory. Let’s take a quick look at 7 other realities that John outlines for us. ***Remaining means obedience.*** Jesus says, “If you obey my commands”. It needs little explanation as he goes on to clarify that we are simply doing as he does. He obeys the Father, and we are then to obey him. Obedience marks several key components to a strong relationship and impacts how we remain. A branch that does not connect with the vine or do as the vine needs is working against the vine and against its own purpose and created order. Jesus tells us that obedience is a requirement because it is when we obey that we are most directly being what and who we were designed to be. Obedience is a prerequisite to a fulfilled understanding of our identity. Obedience to Jesus is a natural outpouring of understanding our place and identity in the vine – in Jesus. Obedience is a response to His work in us, as his life fuels ours. ***Remaining means loving him and loving others.*** For the same reason that we obey, love is a response to our place and purpose in the vine and to the gardener. We are loved and for that reason we love others and love God. Jesus echoes his own words when he shared the greatest commandment with those who followed him – love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbour as yourself. Here, as Jesus recounts the most necessary things before his arrest, he focuses on the most pressing – love the Lord and love one another. He illustrates what that love looks like, to be selfless even unto death. Love is more than what our culture would like to assume it is, a feeling, lust, uncontrollable urges; love is a decision that is made because who we are and who we were created by. The love that Jesus is focused on in John 15 isn’t something that you feel or fall into, it is something that we make the decision to walk into – eyes wide open and experience in its fullness. In many cases love is wonderful and the experience brings about joy and happiness, but there are times as Jesus shows us in words and actions, where love is hard and the journey is fraught with brokenness and difficulty. Remain in Jesus, in the vine that gives life requires us to move beyond ourselves and give life through love to others and to return that same love and adoration to Christ himself. ***Death and destruction for the fruitless.*** The most painful aspects of this passage is the reality that some will have nothing to do with the vine. A branch that does not bear fruit, that will not obey, that refuses to be selfless and love others and the very vine is part of will be cast away. After reading through the gospel, I can’t imagine the thought of living outside of this incredible redemption story – I want to be part of it! But we hear from Jesus that there will be some who go against the very natural realities of themselves to live lives for themselves apart from Jesus and the life that he brings. I pray that this is not you. If you find yourself now, apart from Jesus, I urge you to consider the call to love and obedience – to a life designed for you and me in our natural selves – as part of Jesus himself. ***We are his friends when we remain in him.*** Our relationship slowly changes with Jesus. I don’t know if you have noticed that as you grow in spiritual maturity. We slowly begin to see the Father in heaven, Jesus and the Holy Spirit differently. Their roles and the way they interact with us becomes more clear and an intimacy that is hard to describe becomes prevalent in our day to day experiences with God. Jesus outlines this wonderful truth. Our relationship with him becomes far less transactional and far for familial. We become friends with an intimate connection that has no earthly, temporal comparison. The joy that emerges fuels us, shapes us and categorically changes us to become more of who we are. ***Our fruit will last and has eternal significance.*** Being fruitful is not just about being productive, it is also about simply being. When we understand this, experience it in our relationship with Christ, we understand that being fruitful – productive and being – our fruit is eternal. What we accomplish in our work for Christ and our being shapes us, shapes others and the world that we exist in for an eternity. This is due to the fact that as fruitful branches, we live at the will of the vine who lives forever. Our identity is wrapped up and connected to the eternal who is not bound to time, he is the creator of it. Our fruit exists beyond time and space. The work that we do now in love and obedience transcends our temporal existence and has eternal significance. ***We are chosen.*** It’s not something that we have done, it’s everything he has done on our behalf. He has chosen to love, he has chosen for us to experience this wonderful relationship with him. This statement that Jesus makes, “you did not chose me, but I chose you” was and is designed to be an encouragement. When life hurts, when the world crashes in on you, when you feel worthless and broken and without purpose, we remember that he chose us because of the value he sees in us. When we feel unworthy and lacking, we remember that it is he who chose us, not because of what we have done, but because of his love for us. We were chosen because he loves, not because we have accomplished. ***When we remain, we have full access to the Father. So Ask.*** Remaining is the hardest part. It is hard to focus and stay. It is hard to stay and obey. It is hard to love while we remain because all we want to do is do our own thing. Remaining is the hardest part. When we do remain, we stay focused and stand, Jesus tells us we ask and the Father will give. He give us what we need. What a tremendous promise. It stands at the end of the dialogue, only the reminder to love one another is left after this statement regarding our identity in the vine. The promise that the Father will hear and respond to our needs and cries. When we can’t seem to get things right. When we struggle, we know we can reach out and be with the Father and cry out to him for help. Where is your identity? Does it stem from your fruitfulness in Jesus Christ? Jesus speaks and helps us understand that our creator designed us for this purpose and when we come face to face with these realities, we can find peace that passes all understanding, we can find belonging in a family that loves and we can find restoration in his home.