It is to the glory of God the Father that the disciples of the Son "bear much fruit," and Jesus gave instruction as to how this can become possible in human lives, for He said, "He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." Fruit-bearing branches are the result of an abiding union with the vine. Just as the sap flows up from the root of the vine and out into the branches, producing rich clusters of precious fruit, so there will be a rich harvest of fruit in the life of the one who abides in the Vine.
The Master further said, "I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." He is cutting away the tendrils of the human life that cling to earth, training them heavenward, and pruning the branches in order that they may bear much fruit. Under the benign influences of the Sun of Righteousness, and of the latter rain of the Holy Spirit, the process of the ripening of the fruit will be materially hastened. In other words, the nearer we approach the end, the more quickly will be accomplished the work of gathering souls from the world and preparing them for the kingdom.
In this remnant of time in which we live, we have the encouraging assurance that however unpromising the material with which we work, however great the changes which must be wrought in the life, if the connection between Vine and branch is unbroken, and the pruning by the Holy Spirit is unhindered, abundant fruitage will appear in the life; and as the life of each disciple abounds in the richness and sweetness of the Holy Spirit, there will be a "gathering with" Christ which will make the church a flourishing and fruitful vineyard, in which the Master will take delight.
A marvelous work of re-creation of lives is being witnessed today. Changes such as have never been experienced by native people of mission lands, who have been held in abject slavery to the worst passions of the human heart, are constantly taking place, and the testimony of these transformed lives furnishes the most powerful argument in favor of the gospel. Nothing so thrills the heart of the missionary as to see these marvelous changes wrought in the lives of those who so recently were without "hope, and without God in the world." The nearer we come to the end of time; the greater will be the manifestation of God's power in the transformation of character, till the whole earth is filled with His glory.
What unparalleled honor that He has chosen us, and ordained us, that we shall go and bring forth fruit, and also that the fruit shall remain. How unpardonable the failure of the one chosen and ordained, who goes forth and causes the fruit to appear, but because of broken contact with the Source of life, the fruit does not remain, and both branch and fruit wither and are severed under the pruning knife. "He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." "I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."
Balboa, C. Z.
