Bearing the Fruit of the Kingdom of God

John 18:36

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Ok, where is that "To Do" list?  It's time to get on to today's tasks.  I have to dive into the challenges of this day.  Does this sound or feel familiar?

The world is all about results.  Everything we are taught by the world directs us toward endless expenditures of our energy and our activities in an effort to produce something deemed valuable by the world itself.  We are constantly in motion taking on the demands of the world.  In our haste, we are focusing on the wrong kingdom.

Jesus' royal power and authority have no origin in this world.  His standing with the Father is in no way furnished by earthly force, fleshly ordinances, physical energies, material wealth or imperial armies.  The dominion of Christ the King springs directly from the throne of Almighty God.  Every good thing that comes to us and flows through us is a result of our relationship with One who sits at the right hand of the Father.

The Lord is all about process, not results.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to a process of building an intimacy with Our Savior.  From the depths of the relationship that we develop with Jesus, we will produce every good thing that we engage in under His dominion.  

Let us adjust our focus now.  Let us turn away from focusing on the production of things that our flesh demands and move on to producing for the kingdom of Our Lord while here on earth.  Let us become true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for this day.  We thank You for every day that You have given us.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You here on earth and in heaven for all eternity.  We ask for the daily grace to focus on and bear the desired fruit on earth that has value in Your kingdom.  We pray that through our relationship with Your Son that our every activity will give You the praise and glory that is Yours alone.  We ask all these things in the name of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.