A quiet moment.
A lasting word.

TODAY’S REFLECTION · OCTOBER 9, 2026

Fruit That Lasts – Bear Witness

SCRIPTURE: John 15:18–27

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

“Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”

We began this week with the Father tending the branches. We have considered remaining in Christ, sharing His joy and loving as He loves. Now we reach His warning about hatred. Why does a chapter about fruitfulness bring us here?

Remember that Jesus spoke these words with the cross before Him. The disciples would soon see their Master rejected and crucified. He was preparing them to continue His witness after His departure, without assuming that faithfulness would always bring acceptance.

This explains His words in verses 18–21. Belonging to Jesus would sometimes cost them the approval of others. They were not being rejected because Christ had stopped loving them, but because people were resisting the One they represented.

Perhaps you are discovering that tension at work. You try to act honestly, but refusing a dishonest arrangement leaves you excluded. You keep treating people kindly, yet their attitude does not change. Eventually, you wonder whether your faith is making any difference.

Jesus draws attention to His own experience. His words and works had revealed the Father, yet people still rejected Him. Their guilt lay in resisting that revelation not in Jesus failing to make the Father known (verses 22–25). Their response could not be the measure of His faithfulness.

This helps us examine our situation without either despair or pride. Some criticism reveals something we must correct. But when rejection comes because we belong to Christ, we need not compromise to regain acceptance. Neither should we allow hurt to turn into bitterness. The command to love, which we studied yesterday, still governs how we respond today.

Yet Jesus knows that understanding this will not make it easy. So He promises the Advocate. The Spirit will testify about Him, and these disciples, who had been with Him from the beginning, will testify too. Their responsibility is real, but they are not left to their own courage. Nor should they expect only rejection: verse 20 also anticipates people receiving their teaching.

As we finish this series, we return to our need to remain in Christ. His life must sustain the love, peace and kindness we carry into difficult places. Standing firm may include speaking clearly, setting a respectful boundary or seeking help while refusing revenge.

In this season, ask the Spirit to help you continue making Jesus known. The person who rejects your witness cannot separate you from the One who sustains it.