September 27

Between the Seed and the Fruit

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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

––John 15:5-6

Have you ever noticed that when we talk about spiritual growth, much of the focus is on the seed and the fruit? We need to be planted in rich soil in order to lay down strong spiritual roots and grow to produce godly fruit. And those two phases are critical. But I’d argue that the phase that often isn’t emphasized enough is what happens between the germination of the seed (when we accept Christ) and the bearing of the fruit (when our spiritual gifts mature).

I remember the first time I looked into buying fruit trees for our backyard. I was really excited about the idea of squeezing fresh juice in the morning. Of course, you quickly learn that a young citrus tree can take a few years before it bears edible fruit. But here’s something interesting: If you buy a grafted tree—one in which a mature branch from a fruit-bearing tree is grafted to a young rootstock, you can get fruit within two to three years. However, if you grow a citrus tree from seed, it can take five to ten years to bear fruit.

And so it is with our spiritual development; Jesus drove this point home with His disciples:

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  ––John 15:4

Not only do we need to remain in Jesus—in other words, abide in Him—but we also need the help of more mature believers who can support and guide us.

Sometimes I wish I could just skip the seed-sprouting, sapling-growing, branch-trimming steps and jump to the mature fruit-bearing part. After all, that “in between time” can take years—even decades—and we really don’t want to hear that part, do we? What I have personally experienced, however, is the power that comes through the pain. Jesus never said we would not suffer; being trimmed and pruned is painful. However, we can’t lose sight of the fact that no one jumps from seedling to fruit-bearing believer overnight.

There’s no spiritual growth time-accelerating wormhole that can drastically reduce the years of growth, setbacks, struggles, and breakthroughs that are naturally a part of becoming the person God designed us to be. Does that mean we need to like the painful parts of spiritual development? As Hebrews 12:11 tells us, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

I will say this, however: When we walk with Jesus—mile after mile, year after year—the closer we remain to the Vine, the faster the fruit comes. Don’t curse the pruning or blame the devil for the refining the Father wants to do to your spiritual “branches.” The payoff, however, is enormous.

Father, keep me connected to the Vine that is Your Son. I do not want to live apart from You or the growth process You are using to bring me to spiritual maturity.