“Fruit means that when people taste your life, you taste like Jesus. If you are fully grafted into Jesus, the vine, then He says your life should produce tangible results that make people say, ‘Now that is Christlike.’ “- Banning Liebscher
“I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. . . . You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.”- John 15:5,16 (NIV)
In Chapter 1 (“Why the Rooted Last”) of Rooted: The Hidden Places Where God Develops You, Banning Liebscher notes the Christian’s desire for a life of lasting impact. Yet, we not only want to see that power at work in our own lives. We also want to see God’s power working through us to bring the life and hope of Jesus to a broken world.
Most noteworthy, Pastor Liebscher states, God instilled this desire for lasting impact. It’s His idea, not ours. However, Banning underscores, you are chosen and appointed by God to produce much fruit. And a fruit that lasts (emphasis author’s). Therefore, God creates no conservative plans yielding minimal results. Rather, the author notes, God desires that you bear fruit far beyond what you possibly ask or think. Banning adds:
“He’s not looking for a month, or a year, or a decade, of you growing more like Jesus and pursuing the things He calls you to do. He’s looking for a lifetime impact, a generational impact, and an eternal impact. Abundant, enduring fruitfulness is the mandate on your life. . . . But abundant, enduring fruitfulness will only happen, Jesus says, if you ‘remain in’ him.”
Today’s question: When people taste your life, do they taste Jesus? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the annotated bibliography of Anxious for Nothing
