Bearing Fruit That Will Last

Bearing Fruit That Will Last

 — By M.T. Clark — P-1967, 05/19/2026 —Today’s Audio Podcast 

Today’s Message on YouTube:

Today’s photo of a fiery pink and orange sunset blazing across a wide sky over a small-town street — anchored by a white church steeple on the left and the rooflines of older homes along the road — comes to us from my mother, Kathy Clark, who captured this evening sky just down from her home on Green Street back on May 15, 2026.

A sky like this one reminds me that the same God who paints the heavens is the same God who is at work in us, doing slow and beautiful things we cannot always see while He is doing them. 

Well, it’s Tuesday, and as we move past the start of the work week and step deeper into our routines, I am looking forward to tonight’s online Grace Course meeting on Zoom, where we will be working through the lesson on bearing fruit.  God works in us to move us to produce the fruit of good works outwardly, but He also does the unseen work that changes our hearts and produces the fruit of the Spirit. 

Our series, “Walking in the Spirit,” continues today with the natural fruit of Spirit-led life.

Bearing Fruit That Will Last

The Spirit-led life produces fruit.

Not effort. Not striving. Not a religious performance. Fruit.

Jesus said it plainly in John 15:5:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (NKJV)

The branch does not strain to produce grapes. It does not attend grape-production seminars. It does not get up at 5 AM to discipline itself into fruitfulness. 

The branch produces fruit because it is connected to the vine. The life of the vine flows through the branch, and fruit happens. 

The same is true for the believer who is walking in the Spirit. The life of Jesus Christ flows through us, and fruit happens. 

Our part is not to manufacture the fruit. Our part is to stay connected to the vine.

Paul names this fruit specifically in Galatians 5:22-23: 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

Nine qualities. One word — fruit — singular, not plural. These nine are not nine separate fruits that we collect like merit badges.

They are one fruit with nine flavors. They grow together. They ripen together. They are the natural overflow of a life in which the Holy Spirit has been given room to do His work.

I want to be honest about something. For most of my early Christian years, I read this passage and treated it as a checklist. 

I would grade myself against the list and feel ashamed of how far away I was from this holy standard.  And even though I didn’t know much about spiritual formation, I understood that I couldn’t “fake it til you make it” when it came to the fruit of the Spirit. 

You can’t really fake it when it comes to love, kindness, faithfulness, or joy, to name a few. 

Demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit isn’t about performance. It is about growth.

The fruit tells us if we are connected to the vine & walking in the Spirit.  If there is no fruit, it’s not because we are not trying hard enough, it’s because we are not following the Holy Spirit’s lead. 

If love is missing in my interactions, the question is not “how do I love better?” — it is “where am I disconnected from the vine?” 

If joy has dried up, the question is not “how do I manufacture joy?” — it is “what has the Holy Spirit been trying to do in me that I have been resisting?” 

If peace is gone and anxiety has taken its place, the question is not “how do I calm down?” — it is “what am I trusting in instead of leaning on Him?”

This is the difference between fleshly Christianity and Spirit-led Christianity. Fleshly Christianity tries to imitate the fruit. Spirit-led Christianity abides in the source and lets the fruit happen.

Now here is the beautiful part. The fruit takes time. The fruit comes in its season, not in our timing. 

We can’t fake it. We can’t force it. And we can’t make it.  But if we stay connected to the Lord, abide with Jesus, and walk in the Spirit, we will see it grow.  

The Holy Spirit is at work in you today, even when nothing visible seems to be happening. Some of the fruit He is producing in you right now will not ripen for months. Some of it will not ripen for years. Some of it will only ripen in heaven. 

But it is real. It is forming. And He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6).

So, stop trying to manufacture fruit, and instead make sure you are abiding in the vine.

Are you spending time in His Word? Are you talking to Him in prayer? Are you walking in the Spirit’s leading throughout your day? Are you walking away from the things that lead you astray? Are you stepping into the things that keep you connected? That is the work. The fruit is His to produce. 

Jesus closed His teaching on the vine with this in John 15:16:

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” — John 15:16 (NKJV)

Your fruit is meant to last. Not just for a season. Not just for the people you know now. 

The Holy Spirit is producing in you a fruit that will outlive you — that will keep blessing people long after you have gone home to be with the Lord. That is the kind of fruit only He can grow. And He is growing it right now, whether you can see it or not.

Stay connected. Abide. Trust the vine. The fruit is coming. Keep on walking and talking with God.

— M.T.

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“The views, opinions, and commentary of this publication are those of the author, M.T. Clark, only, and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any of the photographers, artists, ministries, or other authors of the other works that may be included in this publication, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities the author may represent.”

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