"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:8)

A theme found throughout the Testaments is that of bearing fruit. The Lord wants us to be productive. He charges us to be fruitful and multiply. The ancient Israelites had to work hard for survival. Not only is farming, their primary occupation, difficult labor, but following the commandments of Jehovah often required specific sacrifices and duties. In the New Testament the Lord often linked salvation with our effort.

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works" (Matthew 16:27).

And not producing fruit was a curse. The barren fig tree was condemned, for it was not doing what the Lord required of it.

This theme of productiveness can also be found throughout the created universe. The Lord did not create anything that is without value or use. The fertile soil of the earth is the seed-bed from which vegetation springs. Plants serve for food, and constantly seem to be producing many more seeds than can possibly come to fruition. Animal life also strives to reproduce itself, to create more of its own. The urge to grow, to build, is universal.

We should not be surprised by this. For it is but a reflection of the Lord's nature. His love is the most productive love of all. It is always reaching out, striving to create, to produce what is good. This is why the universe was created. This is why we were born. Our existence is evidence of His love.

And to us He holds out the opportunity to join with Him in being productive. He is the vine, we can be the branches. From Him we can bear much fruit. We can be touched by His love, and share it with others. We can affect all those around us, producing in them happiness and joy.

How do we become branches of the Lord? We begin by following in His path. We cannot be offshoots of His unless what we do comes from Him. He has given us the Word (the way, the truth, and the life), that we might know what is required of us. As He said in John, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love....This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:10, 12).

Heeding His Word means walking in His ways. We cannot very well touch others with love if we ourselves are not acting the ways of love. Can we in anger, command someone to be good? Can we from contempt look down on others and say all men are brothers? This is what the Lord commanded in Ezekiel, saying:

"If [a person] has walked in My statutes and kept My judgments faithfully - he is just; he shall surely live!" (Ezekiel 18:9)

Good fruit is not produced by diseased plants or trees. To be the Lord's branches requires us to keep His commandments, so that His love might exist in us to be shared with others.

But how are we to produce the fruit of loving our neighbors? The Lord had given us the way of serving others, being useful to them. As He said, "Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-27).

If we consider it, it is almost impossible to avoid being of service to others in this world. The Lord established a system that virtually demands we devote much of our lives to others. The only way to avoid serving others is to live separated from all others, not receiving anything from them, and not giving them anything in return. Such a hermit's life is almost inconceivable. Even Johnny Appleseed, who stayed as far away from civilization as possible, was of tremendous service by planting apple trees and spreading copies of Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church.

The reality for us is that we will serve others. As children and students, we are under the supervision of others who give us much to do. As young adults we seek employment to earn a living. As spouses we will care for our mates and do household duties. As parents we will take care of the many needs of our children. As friends we will lend a hand to our peers. As senior citizens we will be the anchors of family and cultural values. At whatever age, the Lord would have us be of use to others, branches of His vine, bearing much fruit.

The alternative to being useful is not very attractive. Imagine what it would be like to be deprived of the opportunity to serve others? Without work to do, would we not begin focusing more and more upon ourselves? Would not the frustration break out in anger towards others? Is this not why long hospital stays, unemployment, and retirement without other interests are so devastating? Is not part of the pain for a couple having difficulty conceiving a child, the fact that they are being denied the opportunity of serving as parents? And for the single person, the lack of being useful in a marriage relationship detracts from the service he or she might be. Although the Lord insures that any one can be useful to others, when we are denied the possibility of being useful in even one way, there is a sense of loss, of incompleteness.

There are numerous ways to be of use in this world. One way is by our occupations. Be they chairman of the board or janitor at an all night cafe, the time we spend at our jobs is a way to serve our neighbors, to love them. Another critical way to be of use is in our families. As we relate to our spouse, raise our children, and manage our homes, we are providing a tremendous benefit to our neighbors. Not only are we establishing a foundation for society in our marriages, we are preparing young people to be productive members of society and angels in heaven. These two uses, formal occupations and home life, are perhaps the most important uses we can do, for we spend the most time with them during our lives on earth. As we perform them to the best of our abilities, we are bearing the fruit which makes us the Lord's disciples.

Some of the other uses that the Lord calls upon us to do involve our responsibilities in our communities and our church. To love our neighbors requires us to take an informed interest in what is going on, in our local community and in the world community. Although only some will become directly involved, all can form opinions and participate in electing representatives.

We can also be useful in the setting of our church. Here we have wide-ranging opportunities to enable people to worship their God. From serving on committees or contributing money, to just being present for Sunday morning worship, there are innumerable ways to become branches of the Lord's vine, bringing forth much fruit.

Now, it may seem that all we must do is follow the commandments and do certain good acts and we automatically become angelic. Since it is relatively easy to avoid breaking laws and perform certain actions, all should be saved, right? Well, not exactly. Being useful involves something more than mere adherence to laws and performing our duties. For a person can be very selfishly inclined and do these things. Someone could devote a great deal of energy to serving the neighbor so all will think him a "good" person.

This is of providence, for the Lord insures that all people, both those who truly care for others and those who primarily care for themselves, can serve others. As His rain falls on the just and the unjust, so this world is designed that all will be useful.

But for the fruit we bear to be nourishing, and not rotten within, our motives must stem from the Lord also. Being of use requires that the good we do for our neighbors be good in both essence and form.

How do we bear good fruit? By quietly and secretly shunning evils as sins. As we periodically look at our lives, both what we are doing with our time and our inner thoughts and feelings, we are to identify whatever seems to come from hell. If we place more importance on the things of this world, or our own self image, than on sincerely caring for others, we can see something is wrong.

Perhaps we will recognize that we are working primarily for the money or prestige we receive. Perhaps we will not take a particular job if it will not increase our income enough, or we shy away from aspects of our occupation that will not result in others praising us. What should we do? How do we shun these selfish motivations? Recognizing them as wrong and asking the Lord's help is a start. Then one way to shun these evils is to force ourselves not to think about how much we are making. Perhaps we might also seek for some mundane jobs which are not likely to bring us to the attention of our supervisor.

Whatever we do, it is important that we not give up our jobs. One reason the Lord has provided so many uses is that we continue working even if our motivations are selfish. No young person entering the job market is immune from desiring a large salary so he can spend money freely. He should not seek a low paying job to punish himself, for it is by the very means of working that the Lord can gradually purge away an orientation for self and replace it with a genuine concern for others.

In all the ways we are useful to others, from occupations to child rearing, the Lord can cause us to bear fruit as we become ever more sensitive to what is of hell within us, and attempt to change. Being useful, even if our motives are not pure at first, teaches us, trains us, to care for others. As we perform as well as we can in our roles as friends, spouses, parents, and employees, then the Lord can gradually cause us to see and appreciate the fruit that can be produced from His vine. Love for the neighbor grows as we learn to care by serving others and not just self.

It is not too surprising that most of our sense of self worth comes from our jobs and our home life: where we can be of most use. As we put away excessive concern for ourselves and the world, we grow ever stronger as branches on the Lord's vine. As this happens, our sense of joy and happiness can increase many fold. For as we are truly useful to others we are participating in the Lord's work. We are becoming angels for we are doing His will. It is His love, His happiness, that we are sharing and thereby making our own. With Him as our vine we can bear much fruit, and become His disciples indeed.

109. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, signifies that he who receives in the heart shall be filled with the good of love and with heavenly joy therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming," as being to receive in the heart (of which in what follows); also from the signification of "eating," as being to be appropriated and to be conjoined (See Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3813, 5643); and from the signification of "the tree of life," as being the good of love and heavenly joy therefrom (of which also in what follows). "To overcome" is to receive in the heart, because everyone who is to receive spiritual life must fight against evils and falsities which belong to his natural life; and when he overcomes these he receives in the heart the goods and truths which belong to the spiritual life. To receive in the heart is to receive in the will and love, for "heart" in the Word signifies the will and love (See Arcana Coelestia 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336). To receive in the heart, then, is to do these from the will or love; this is what is meant by "overcoming."

[2] "The tree of life" signifies the good of love and heavenly joy therefrom, because "trees" signify such things as are with man in his interiors, which are of his mind [mens] or disposition [animus]; "boughs" and "leaves" signifying those things that are of the knowledges of truth and good, and "fruits" the goods of life themselves. This signification of trees draws its origin from the spiritual world; for in that world trees of every kind are seen, and the trees that are seen correspond to the interiors of the angels and spirits which are of their mind; the most beautiful and fruitful trees to the interiors of those who are in the good of love and thence in wisdom; trees less beautiful and fruitful to those who are in the good of faith; but trees bearing leaves only, and without fruits, to those who are only in the knowledges of truth; and horrible trees, with noxious fruits, to those who are in knowledges and in evil of life. To those, however, who are not in knowledges, and who are in evil of life, no trees appear, but stones and sands instead. These appearances in the spiritual world really flow from correspondence, for the interiors of the minds of those there are by such effigies presented actually before their eyes. (These things may be better seen from two chapters in the work on Heaven and Hell; first, where the Correspondence of Heaven with all things of Earth is treated of, n. 103-115; and the other, where Representatives and Appearances in Heaven are treated of, n. 170-176, and in what follows there, n 177-190.)

[3] It is from this that "trees" are so often mentioned in the Word, and by them are signified the things with men that belong to their minds; and from this it is also that in the first chapters of Genesis: two trees are said to have been placed in the garden of Eden, one called "the tree of life," and the other "the tree of knowledge." "The tree of life" there signifies the good of love to the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom, which were with those who were then of the church, and who are meant by the "man" and his "wife;" and by "the tree of knowledge" is signified the delight of knowledges apart from any other use than to be accounted learned and to acquire repute for erudition solely for the sake of honor or gain. "The tree of life" also signifies heavenly joy, because the good of love to the Lord, which is specifically signified by that tree, has heavenly joy in it (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 395-414, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 230-239).

[4] That "trees," which are so often mentioned in the Word, signify the interiors of man which belong to his mind and disposition, and the things that are on trees, as leaves and fruit, signify such things as are from these interiors, can be seen from the following passages:

I will give in the desert the cedar, the shittah tree, ¹ and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the wilderness the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree (Isaiah 41:19).

The establishment of the church is there treated of:

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to deck the place of My sanctuary (Isaiah 60:13).

All the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, humble the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree to bud (Ezekiel 17:24).

Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour the green tree in thee, and every dry tree (Ezekiel 20:47).

The vine is withered, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered: joy is withered away from the sons of men (Joel 1:12).

When the angel sounded, there followed hail and fire, which fell upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up (Revelation 8:7).

Beltshasar ² saw in a dream a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The leaves thereof were fair, and the flowers many, and in it was food for all (Daniel 4:10-12).

(Because "trees" in general signify such things as are with man and constitute the interiors of his mind, and so also the spiritual things that are of the church; and because both are of various kinds, therefore there are so many kinds of trees mentioned, each signifying something different. What the various kinds signify is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, as what is signified by the "oil tree," n. Arcana Coelestia 9277, 10261; what by the "cedar," n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10178; what by the "vine," n. 1069, 5113, 6375, 6378, 9277; what by the "fig," n. 217, 4231, 5113, etc.)

[5] Moreover, the things that are on trees, as leaves and fruit, signify such things as are with man; "leaves," the truths with him, and "fruits," the goods, as in the following passages:

He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and shall spread out his roots by the river; his leaf shall be green; neither shall he cease from yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:8).

By the river flowing out from the house of God, upon the bank on this side and on that, ascendeth the tree of food, whose leaf falleth not off, nor is its fruit consumed; it is renewed in its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary, whence its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicine (Ezekiel 47:12).

In the midst of the street and of the river (flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb), on this side and on that, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1, 2).

Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of waters, that bringeth forth its fruit in its time, whose leaf also doth not wither (Psalms 1:3).

Be not afraid, for the tree shall bear fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength (Joel 2:22).

The trees of Jehovah are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted (Psalms 104:16).

Praise Jehovah, ye fruit trees, and all cedars (Psalms 148:7, 9).

[6] Because "fruits" signified the goods of life with man, therefore it was commanded in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, that the fruits of trees, like men themselves, should be circumcised, concerning which it is thus written:

The fruit of the tree serving for food in the land of Canaan shall be uncircumcised; three years shall they be uncircumcised. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, praises to Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat [of the fruit thereof] (Leviticus 19:23-25).

Because the "fruits of the tree" signified the goods of life, it was also commanded:

That in the feast of tabernacles they should take the fruits of the tree of honor, and the boughs, and be glad before Jehovah, and thus should keep the feast (Leviticus 23:40, 41).

For by "tabernacles" were signified the goods of heavenly love, and holy worship therefrom (See Arcana Coelestia 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391, 10545); and by the "feast of tabernacles" was signified the implantation of that good or love (n. 9296). Because "fruits" signified the goods of love which are goods of life:

It was amongst the blessings that the tree of the field should give its fruit, and among the curses that it should not bear fruit (Leviticus 26:4, 20).

So also it was a command that when any city was besieged:

They should not lay the axe to any tree of good fruit (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20).

From all this it can be seen that "fruits" signify the goods of love, or what is the same, the goods of life, which are also called "works," as likewise in these passages in the Evangelists:

The axe lieth unto the root of the tree; every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire (Matthew 3:10; 7:16-21).

Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43, 44).

Every branch that beareth not fruit shall be taken away; but every branch that beareth fruit shall be pruned, that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2-8).

A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, but found none. And he saith unto the vine dresser, Behold, for three years I come seeking fruit from the fig tree, and find none; cut it down; why should it make the ground unfruitful? (Luke 13:6-9).

Jesus saw a fig tree by the way; He came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only; and He said, Nevermore from thee shall there be fruit. And immediately the fig tree withered away (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:13, 14, 20).

The "fig tree" signifies the natural man and its interiors, and "fruits" signify his goods (Arcana Coelestia 217, 4231, 5113); but "leaves" signify knowledges (Arcana Coelestia 885). From this it is clear what is signified by the fig tree's withering away because the Lord found on it leaves only and no fruit. All these passages are cited that it may be known what is signified by the "tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God," namely, the good of love proceeding from the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom.

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