We are called to bear fruit. Colossians 1:10, the founding verse of OneTen Ministries, urges us to “walk worthy of the Lord…bearing fruit in every good work...” But what is this fruit, and how is it produced?

Trees are often used as metaphors throughout Scripture to refer to people or people groups. The most famous of trees may very well be the two trees that stood in the middle of the Garden of Eden – the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of one tree was good while the fruit of the other came with a stern warning.

Jesus also talked with His disciples about two types of trees which produce two types of fruit. Good trees which produce good fruit, and bad trees which produce bad fruit (Matthew 7:16-20). Jesus also tells us that we will be able to tell good people from bad people by examining their fruit (Matthew 7:16, 20).

The apostle Paul gives us a great clue as to the good kind of fruit our lives should produce when we are in alignment with and yield to the Holy Spirit. He wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” This fruit stands in stark contrast to the bad fruit identified throughout Scripture, such as fear, pride, selfishness, deception, manipulation, covetousness, sexual immorality, blasphemy, and idolatry, just to name a few.

The good fruit is exactly the fruit Jesus displayed in His earthly life. Jesus told us plainly why He was able to produce such good fruit. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 CSB) and “the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.” (John 14:10c-11 CSB) In other words, Jesus was saying “inspect my fruit, then you will know that I and the Father are one.”

Jesus also gave us important clues as to how to produce this good fruit in our lives as well. He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener….Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me…My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8 CSB)

Fruit is never self-produced. It is not the result of striving, skill, personality, or religious effort. Fruit is the natural outflow of connection. It is the supernatural result of a life rooted in Jesus. Fruit comes from the root, through the vine, under the care of the vinedresser, to the branches. It is only produced through connection to the vine. Jesus calls that connection remaining—or abiding. When we abide, our lives begin to look like the One to whom we are connected, and we will therefore produce the same fruit. A grape vine always produces grapes. A melon vine always produces melons. We will produce the fruit of the vine to which we are most connected.

A Life Rooted in Jesus Becomes a Life That Reveals Jesus

We are called to bear fruit. Not occasionally, not accidentally, not by personality or talent—but by connection. Jesus said, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46), and “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” (John 14:15). He isn’t demanding perfection, He is calling us into maturity—into a responsive, obedient love that listens quickly, repents sincerely, and keeps walking forward with Him.

Jesus said, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9 CSB) A sobering question then follows: Is that true of us? Would the people you and I interact with say that they have seen an accurate glimpse of Jesus through us? Do we know Jesus well enough to represent Him well to others?

When He walked this earth, Jesus abided in and with the Father, and the Father abided in Him. The Father remained in Jesus and Jesus remained connected and faithful to the Father, committed to doing the Father’s work (John 10:30; 17:21; 4:34). When we walk the earth, we are called to abide in Jesus. In that place of remaining, our lives begin to show the difference between two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God (the Light) or the kingdom of darkness. We are to abide – remain in and faithful to – Christ just as He still abides in the Father and the Father is in Him. This is how Jesus revealed the Father and this is how we are supposed to reveal Jesus.

“What you have heard from the beginning is to remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he himself made to us: eternal life. I have written these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him.” (1 John2:24-27CSB)

The fruit of an abiding life in Christ is good, lasting fruit that remains for all of eternity.

We will spend 2026 examining this fruit and the beautiful gift of remaining connected to the Vine and yielded to the Vine Dresser.

A Closing Prayer

Jesus, teach us to remain.
Pull us close to Your heart, like the beloved disciple.

Make our lives a place where Your presence rests.
Prune what cannot stay.
Strengthen what is weak but willing.
Give us hearts that respond quickly, love deeply, and obey joyfully.
Root us so deeply in You that what flows from our lives is unmistakably You.
Make us a remnant people—faithful, fruitful, abiding.
For Your glory, not ours. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. From where am I currently drawing my “root system”—Jesus, or something else?

2. If I’m honest, what kind of fruit (good or bad) has my life been producing recently?

3. What seeds do I need to remove from the fertile soil of my heart before they take root and produce ungodly fruit?

4. When my fruit is squeezed, what spills out of me—and what does that reveal about my heart and it’s proximity to Jesus? If pressure, disappointment, or frustration presses in—what spills out? Is it worship or blasphemy? Trust or panic? Humility or pride? The answer reveals our kingdom roots.