By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
--- John 15:8

Yes, as Jesus said,
… God is glorified through the fruit we bear!

But what does that really mean?
How do we do that?

Is it in what we say of Him?
Is it in what we do for Him?
Is it by expressing what He is in us?

What is this fruit, and how do we bear it?

Fruit is the result of something!

Fruit is the result of something,
… and not just, as we so often think,
doing or accomplishing something!

Far too often we concentrate on the fruit,
… in other words, on what we can do!
And forget that, unless the source is good,
… the fruit will not be good!

Where then does the fruit come from?
Take for instance a fruit tree and its fruit.

The tree is not so concerned with those,
… for whom the fruit is intended.
But is involved with producing the fruit,
… with what produces the fruit,
… and with where the fruit comes from!

Not from the outside …

Furthermore, a fruit tree is not planted where the need is,
A tree is not planted at the market,
But …
A tree is planted where it can grow and develop.
And,
if a tree is not planted in good soil, with adequate water,
… there will be no fruit,
… or tasteless, underdeveloped fruit!

So …
If fruit is the result of something,
… what is its source?
… where does it come from?

… from the inside!

Fruit comes from the inside,
… from the goodness on the inside!
And again,
… the fruit tree, God’s example, is a good example!

Where does the fruit on that tree come from?
… from the inside!
In other words, from what is on the inside of the tree.
… the goodness out of the root, trunk and stem of the tree.

It is not influenced by what is on the outside,
and …
It is also not dependent on what is on the outside!
But …
It IS dependent on what is on the inside!

Jesus said that in our lives, this is exactly the same!

"Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
"I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing.
--- John 15:4-5

The fruit that we bear, also comes from the inside,
… not dependent on what is on the outside,
but dependent on our source!
And what or who is our source?
… Jesus!

Remember this however …
It is not the branch that produces the fruit,
… the tree produces the fruit,
and not the branch,
… the branch bears the fruit!

So … without the vine we can do nothing,
In other words, without Jesus … we can do nothing,
… we will have no fruit to bear!

Therefore,
… we are to express on the outside,
… what is on the inside of us!

And we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God,
to those who are the called according to His purpose.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to be conformed to the image of His Son..
--- Rom. 8:28-29

The source of the fruit we bear in our lives … is Jesus!

His character,
His heart!

His heart … love!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life..
--- John 3:16

That same heart, the same fruit that should be in our lives …

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.
And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need,
and shuts up his heart from him,
how does the love of God abide in him?
--- 1 John 3:16-17

Yes, we glorify God through the fruit we bear,
… through expressing what is in us,
… Jesus Himself, His character, His heart … His love!

Glorifying God, by showing Him,
… and His goodness to others!

By living what He has done in our lives,
... and expressing what He is in us!
LOVE!