For those of us who profess to be believers but have nothing to show forth in the way of fruit, we will be cut off from the source of life, Who is YAHSHUA, and we will face eternal death. In the parable of the seed the only seed that produced fruit was the one planted on good soil. YAHSHUA then explained, These are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:15). That is, they persisted in faith amidst temptations and trials; their heart experienced true birth; all was made new. That’s the only seed that showed genuine acceptance of the message. As a result, they experienced growth and bore fruit- the evidence of being in the Vine.
The bearing of fruit is a must for a believer in YAHSHUA. It is through life in Him that we will be able to bear fruit unto righteousness. He said, Without Me you can do nothing. Abiding in Him, the believer achieves His likeness, as he continues to hold in view the glory of God, through the transformation that is taking place in his heart and mind, with increasing brightness from one degree of glory to another (II Corinthians 3: 18). In our submission to GOD’S cleansing and pruning and molding, God will restore unto us His image, which we lost in the garden when our forefathers sinned.
The place where God will be working in you and me to bring the “increasing splendor from one degree of glory to another” will be in the valleys and deserts of life. There should never be the reason for us to give up faith in Him. We must be fruit bearers, for the righteousness of God imparted to us and compelling us to bear fruit is a sign that we are abiding and living in Christ. He said “if you live in Me and My Words remain in your hearts, ask whatever you will and it shall be done”. In our intimacy with Christ, we come to know Him and our relationship with Him grows beyond that of salvation, that is, of Him being only a Savior, to being our King and friend. He said to His disciples, I do not call you servants, but I have called you My friends, because I have told you everything I heard from My Father (v. 15). To have a friend, is to have a heavenly gift. When YAHSHUA expressed Himself in term of friendship, He was showing how special a friend’s relationship is in closeness of trust, and in the bond of love. “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and will show Myself to him.” To be His friend and vice-versa is the greatest privilege man can experience in this earthly life.
Tears shed on the desert and valley communicate our need to submit and surrender our will to God’s, as He transfigures us into His image in ever increasing splendor, passing from one degree of glory to another, closer and closer to what He is! The apostle John said, Beloved, we are now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed what we shall be, but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He is (I John 3:2). Apart from YAHSHUA we can do nothing that is of eternal value. Only by living in Him, from Whom we receive life, can we bear fruit into life eternal.
Light from the Word 