Bearing Fruits in Holiness

The bible makes it abundantly clear that Christians must bear fruits in holiness. The bible often describes God as the farmer and Children of God as the vine. God plants, cultivates, tends and protects the vine. And he expects to find bountiful fruits at the harvest time (Cf. Lk 13:6-9). The spiritual fruits are obvious- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Cf. Gal 5:22-23)

God created and redeemed us. He gave us everything we need to bear fruits in holiness- gifts, talents, commandments and sacraments. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.    As he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him in love (Eph 1:3-4).

God gave us his only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus gave up his life for us on the cross. He gave up his life as the expiating sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus also gave us his body and blood in the Blessed Sacrament. He has given us everything we need to bear fruits in holiness. His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2Pet 1:3).

Yet the Scripture is replete with examples of individuals or groups of people who utterly failed to bear fruits in holiness. The Pharisees easily come to mind. They observed the laws, ordinances, precepts in the Old Testament.  They participated in all the rituals in the temple and often went to the synagogue to listen to the Word of God. They always attended the prayers in the synagogue. Yet all these religious activities bore no fruits in holiness. Jesus often accused them of hypocrisy. Jesus compared them to white washed sepulcher- beautiful outside but full of dead bones inside (Matt 23:27-28)

St Paul was a very zealous Pharisee. He dedicated himself to the study and observance of the laws. Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal he persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law he was blameless (Cf. Phil 3:4-6). Yet Paul was not producing fruits in holiness until his conversion on the way to Damascus.

Every Christian is expected to bear abundant fruits in holiness. Fruit-bearing is the hallmark of Christian life. It defines the Christian. It gives him identity and confirmation as a child of God. The presence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit gives Christian life validity. Every good tree bears good fruit (Matt 7:17). Christian life that abounds in the fruits of the Holy Spirit is rich, meaningful and fulfilling.  Fruit- bearing is the best form of bearing witness to the Gospel, best method of evangelization. Our eternal reward will ultimately depend on how spiritually productive we are as Christians.

A ‘fruitless’ Christian life is not worth living.  The vine that fails to produce fruits will be cut down and burnt. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matt 3:10, Is 27:4)). Who can blame the farmer for cutting down an unfruitful vine?  The unfruitful Christian life is a worthless life.