How would you know if you are connected to Jesus today? If you are a success in his eyes? "Every branch in me that bears not fruit, he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes so that it will bear more fruit" (v. 2).

Grape vines in Israel produce two kinds of branches. Some bear no fruit, and never will. Others bear fruit. The "husbandman," the vine dresser, cuts away the branches which do not bear fruit so they will not take away from the energies of the plant. The branches which do bear fruit are pruned each December and January so they will bear more fruit the next spring.

How do we know if we are connected to Jesus this morning? "I am the vine, you are the branches; he that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit" (v. 5a).

You know the vine by examining the fruit. If you are connected to a withering, dying vine, clearly you cannot expect it to help you bear fruit. It cannot give what it does not have. If it is unable to bear fruit, it cannot help you bear fruit.

But if you are connected or "abide" in Jesus, you will bear fruit. His Spirit will flow through you, working with you, using you. And "fruit" will be the inevitable result.

This fact is so important that Jesus repeats it: "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so shall you be my disciples" (v. 8). The one test of discipleship is fruit bearing. The one test of the health of an apple tree is whether it bears apples; the one test of the health of a tomato plant is whether it produces tomatoes.

What is the "fruit" Jesus seeks from us? What kind of apples prove that we are healthy apple trees?

In the botanical context of our text, it is clear that he means fruit in the sense of reproduction. A plant or tree produces fruit as a means of reproducing. A peach tree doesn't know it is feeding you when it produces peaches; it is interested in making peach seeds which will reproduce itself. Fruit is a plant's means of reproduction. Watermelon seeds are a nuisance to you, but crucial to the watermelon.

In the same way, spiritual fruit is spiritual reproduction. In short, we are Jesus' disciples to the degree that we reproduce spiritually, that we help others follow him, that we lead others to faith in him. All healthy things grow. Spiritual reproduction is the mark of genuine discipleship; nothing else or less.

God measures spiritual success by reproduction. You and I are successful in his eyes to the degree that we reproduce spiritually. He does not measure us by church attendance, financial contributions, or committee service. He does not measure us by hours spent in choir rehearsal or Sunday school preparations. An apple farmer measures a tree not by the beauty of its leaves or diameter of its trunk or size of its branches, but by its fruit.