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Written by Abigail Adriana Loayza Becerra, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Cusco, Peru

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
 (John 15:8, NIV)

When we think about bearing fruit as disciples of Jesus, we often imagine doing more—serving more, participating more, knowing the Bible more, or doing more activities. But Galatians 5 leads us to a much deeper question: What is our life really producing?

Paul contrasts the acts of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. And there’s something interesting about the words he uses. He speaks of "acts" in the plural, but of "fruit" in the singular. Acts can be manufactured; fruit, on the other hand, grows.

The acts of the flesh represent what happens when we try to live from our own nature and our own desires. We can try to control our actions, appear spiritual, or strive to follow rules, but our external effort does not always transform our hearts. The history of Israel had already shown this reality; God had given His Law and clearly revealed what was good, but the problem was not in the Law, but in the human heart. That is why the prophets announced something much deeper.

God promised to change the hearts of His people. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek 36:26), and Jeremiah also spoke of a time when God would put His Law in the minds of His people and write it on their hearts. Here we can see a beautiful connection to Galatians 5. God doesn't just want to tell us how to live—He wants to transform the living person from within. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control) is not just a list that we must memorize to appear "spiritually mature." Instead, it is the result of a life that is being transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 5 uses another powerful image: God compares Israel to a vineyard that He Himself planted and cared for. He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced sour grapes. This metaphor reminds us that we can have the right environment, know the truth, and even be close to the things of God, and still not be able to produce the fruit He expects. So it is in this image that Jesus appears, saying, "I am the vine; you are the branches" (John 15:5). The difference is in remaining united to Him: a branch does not produce fruit apart from the vine; we do not need to strive to "look" like a fruitful branch; we need to be the branch that remains connected to the source of life, which also changes our understanding of being true disciples.

Our fruit reveals our connection to Christ. John 15:8 says that when we bear much fruit, we show that we are disciples of Jesus and, above all, we glorify the Father; that is why true fruit becomes more evident when life becomes difficult. Patience is demonstrated when someone irritates us. Self-control appears when we have reasons to react impulsively. Humility is revealed when we might demand recognition. Love becomes real when we must love even those who are not easy for us to love.

Galatians 5:25 tells us, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." The Christian life is not only about knowing what God wants, but about walking in the same direction as the Spirit. Perhaps today the question should not be, "How much am I doing for God?" but rather, "What fruit is God producing in me?" Because in the end, being a disciple is not just about bearing the name of Christ; being a disciple goes beyond all of that. Being a disciple means allowing Christ to form me to the point that He, in the fullness of His character, is visible in how I love, speak, serve, forgive, and relate to others. A branch connected to the vine will bear fruit.

What fruit of the Spirit needs to grow the most in my life so those around me can see Christ in me?

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Written by Paulina C. Lux, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in New York

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matt 7:16-20 NIV)

My father was a farmer and fruit grower in my native country, Guatemala, known as the eternal spring. As a child, I enjoyed a special fruit he harvested. It was called Anna, a crisp, juicy apple. According to him, this fruit was produced in Israel by agronomist Abba Stein in 1950; the apple was named Anna in honor of his daughter. Since I was little, I saw how Dad took care of fruit trees, growing them in good soil so they would have deep roots hydrated by rain and could produce good fruit. He had many fruit trees, and each tree produced fruit according to its species.

A tree is known by its fruit. Jesus spoke to His general audience, and more specifically the religious scribes who knew the Mosaic law to the letter and were strict in their observance, but whose words were not consistent with their actions.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matt 23:23)

They made themselves known by their fruits.

The questions I ask myself now are: What kind of tree am I? How do I know I'm a good tree?

Thales of Miletus is credited with this phrase: "The most difficult task is to know oneself." It's difficult because it takes humility and wisdom to accept my shortcomings. It's easier to hide my true self so as not to be criticized or corrected, and I pretend to be a good Christian. But I can't maintain appearances for long; my actions give me away. Because the fruit Jesus speaks of is our actions, words, or children, I have three princesses. They look like me, only in mini versions; they have my character, and they expose me to my spiritual sisters. That's right: they are my fruits. The written word exhorts us to introspect, self-evaluate, and see what kind of fruit we are producing.

How can I produce good fruit? First, we look for fertile soil to sow the seed. The soil is my heart, which is willing to receive a good seed, which is the Word of God, and be watered by the Holy Spirit, which is the fountain of living water. A seed sown without being watered by the rain dies. When Jesus was coming from Judea to Galilee, He passed through Samaria, met the Samaritan woman, and asked her for water.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:10-14)

A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. You know, my beloved reader, each tree bears fruit according to its kind. The thorn in the desert also produces thorns. When our heart is dry, it is like a desert that produces only thorns and hurts our loved ones: family, husband, children, spiritual family, friends, etc.

It is important to prepare the earth first, healing our emotional wounds (inner child), so the soil is fertile, and the seed of the gospel can germinate in our hearts and be watered by the Holy Spirit so that it produces good fruit in worship to God and for the the edification of my neighbor.

For the bad tree bears bad fruit, but the good tree produces good fruit. Like the apple tree, Anna, its fruit is juicy.

What kind of tree would you like to be?