In The Vine

Think of some things that Jesus did not put in His hand to make His point that night in the garden. He didn't have any money, nor did he have a map for a military (or angelic) invasion of Jerusalem. He didn't have a letter to His wife back home explaining what the last three years were supposed to be about. No, Jesus was thinking about grapes. As He held the grapevine in His hand, he said: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. By this, My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit." John 15:1-2,5,8.
Jesus loved to convey the truth with simple earthly examples. In His last message before His death on the cross, He wanted us to comprehend that we have been left on this earth for one compelling reason...to bear fruit. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Notice, they are not fruits of the spirit (plural) because you must have all of them to possess any of them. How important is fruit then? So important, that our baskets should be overflowing.