What Kind of Fruit Is Your Life Producing?

There's something deeply satisfying about watching things grow. Whether it's a garden sprouting from bare soil, a business developing from a simple idea, or a person stepping into their God-given purpose—growth captivates us because it reflects the creative power of God at work. 

But here's the question that should make us pause: What kind of fruit is your life actually producing? 

## The Divine Expectation 

In John 15, Jesus makes a striking declaration: "Yes, I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." 

Notice the adjectives Jesus uses: **much** fruit, **true** disciples, **great** glory. This isn't about producing minimal results or just getting by spiritually. God's expectation for those who call themselves His children is that their lives would overflow with fruit—the kind that brings Him great glory. 

What does this fruit look like? It's the peace that defies circumstances. It's joy that bubbles up regardless of external conditions. It's love, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control manifesting in daily life. It's souls being ushered into the kingdom. It's a life that multiplies God's influence rather than merely existing. 

Jesus goes further with a sobering warning: "Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned." 

The word "useless" should arrest our attention. None of us wants to stand before God one day and hear that our lives were useless to His kingdom purposes. 

## The Parable That Changes Everything 

In Mark 4, Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seed. The seed falls on four different types of soil, producing vastly different results: 

**Hard soil** – The seed can't penetrate, and birds snatch it away before it can take root. 

**Rocky soil** – The seed sprouts quickly but withers when the sun beats down because there's no depth. 

**Weedy soil** – The seed grows but gets choked out by competing plants. 

**Good soil** – The seed not only grows but multiplies 30, 60, even 100 times what was planted. 

Jesus explains that the seed represents God's Word, and the soil represents the condition of our hearts. This is revolutionary: **The condition of your heart determines whether God's Word will take root and produce fruit in your life.** 

Think about that for a moment. Four people can hear the exact same sermon, read the same Bible passage, or receive the same spiritual teaching—and have completely different outcomes based on the condition of their hearts. 

## Examining Your Soil 

So what's the condition of your heart's soil right now? 

**Is it hard?** Perhaps time and circumstances have compacted your heart. Maybe doubt, disbelief, cynicism, or pride has made you resistant to God's Word. Hard soil needs the softening work of humility—acknowledging that we are not God, and if we're not God, then there's likely a God who has a design for our lives that's better than our own plans. 

**Is it rocky?** This describes those who get excited about God initially but wither when life gets difficult. The moment the heat turns up—when challenges arise, disappointments come, or faith gets tested—their passion for God evaporates. But here's the truth: God is able to work all things, even the hard things, for our good. Sometimes when we think it's time to uproot, God says it's actually time to dig deeper. The difficulties are developing deeper roots that will produce better fruit. 

**Is it weedy?** Perhaps you hear God's Word and genuinely want to apply it, but your life is so crowded with other pursuits that the things of God get choked out. You're chasing the career, the money, the opportunities, the perfect life for your kids. You've created no margin, no time for God's order in your life. When you wake up a decade from now dissatisfied with your fruit, it will be because you didn't pull out the weeds today that were choking out what God wanted to grow. 

**Is it good?** Good soil produces the 30, 60, 100-fold harvest. It's soil that's been intentionally prepared, carefully tended, and protected from contamination. 

## The Recipe for Good Soil 

What makes soil good? It requires three essential ingredients: 

**The Right Foundation** – Just as a garden needs quality organic soil with the proper pH balance, we need to be planted in a healthy local church. You can't create good spiritual soil on your own. You need the mixture that comes from being part of a body of believers where God's Word is taught, where worship happens, where people are genuinely growing. 

**The Right Fertilizer** – In gardening, this is literally manure. Spiritually, it's our story—our baggage, our past, the things we wish we hadn't done or said, the parts of our lives we think are too messy for God to use. But here's the beautiful truth: when your story gets mixed with the right spiritual soil, God can produce incredible fruit from it. Your past isn't too far gone. You're not too broken. God specializes in turning our mess into His message. 

**The Right Oxygenation** – Gardens need something called perlite to keep the soil from becoming compacted, allowing oxygen to flow and roots to penetrate deeply. In our lives, this is the Holy Spirit. God's presence oxygenates our spiritual soil, preventing our hearts from becoming hard and dense. When the Holy Spirit gets all up in our mix, that's when extraordinary fruit begins to grow. 

## Your Neighbors Matter 

In gardening, there's a practice called companion planting. Certain plants thrive when planted beside each other—tomatoes with basil, strawberries with flowers that repel pests. But plant the wrong things together, and they'll compete for nutrients and stunt each other's growth. 

The same principle applies to your life. The people you surround yourself with will either feed your faith or starve it. Your growth is shaped by the environment you place yourself in most often. 

When you're planted by worshipers, you learn to worship. When you're planted by generous people, you learn generosity. When you're planted by people of faith, you develop faith. But the opposite is equally true: plant yourself by gossipers, and you'll become critical. Plant yourself by negative people, and you'll become pessimistic. 

Some of you have fruit you don't like in your life because you're planted by the wrong people. Birds of a feather really do flock together. 

## Strong Support Takes You to New Heights 

To produce maximum fruit, vining plants need trellises—structures that give them room to grow upward. The higher the support, the more fruit they produce. 

Spiritually, this represents the steps we take to follow Jesus more fully. Every step of obedience—attending church regularly, tithing, serving, studying Scripture, joining a small group, praying consistently—these are the trellises that allow our spiritual lives to climb to new heights. 

Some people embrace every opportunity for growth. They climb as fast and produce as much fruit as God will allow, holding nothing back. And remarkably, they never look back with regret because their lives are overflowing with fruit. 

Others take that crucial first step of following Jesus—and that's beautiful and right. But then they plateau. They never take the next step. They never climb higher. And while they're saved, their fruit production remains minimal. 

## The Question That Matters 

Here's what it comes down to: When you stand before God one day, what fruit will you present to Him? 

Will you arrive with a single watermelon, proud of your one accomplishment, only to hear Him ask, "Where's the rest?" 

Or will you enter heaven with a bushel overflowing—businesses built for His glory, money earned for His kingdom, souls ushered in with you, people told about Him, a legacy of multiplication? 

God demands new fruit. Even in old age, Psalm 1 tells us, we should produce new fruit. In every season, God wants us taking new steps, climbing to new heights, producing more for His kingdom. 

The soil is ready. The seed has been planted. The question is: What will you do with it? 

Your roots determine your fruit. And what you're planted in shapes what you produce. 

So examine your soil. Choose your neighbors wisely. Build strong support structures through obedience. 

And watch what God will grow in you—30, 60, even 100 times what you could produce on your own. 

That's the kind of life worth living. That's the kind of fruit worth presenting to the Master.