The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes can be seen as a long lament about the impermanence and transience of life on earth. Nothing seems to last, not wealth or fame or health or strength or position or governments or achievements or people.

Against this is Jesus’ call and promise that we should bear “fruit that will last” (John 15:16). What is this fruit? We can understand this command in conjunction with Jesus’ call to Peter and Andrew to “fish for people” (Matthew 4:19) and Jesus’ great commission to His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The promise is that those who become followers of Jesus will live forever with Him—they will last.

There is another aspect to this promise. The call to bear fruit that will last comes in the context of Jesus’ plea to His followers to “love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This is echoed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He said that gifts and knowledge might pass away but that faith, hope, and especially love will remain (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). This is Jesus’ promise, that what we do as a result of loving people as Jesus loves will produce fruit that lasts, fruit that endures beyond the end of time.