Kingdom Realities – Part IV

Key Verse: Luke 6:46

So why do you keep calling me, “’Lord, Lord’! when you don’t do what I say?”

Additional Reading: Luke 6:43-49

Today we are looking at a couple of realities of God’s Kingdom. When I say “realities” I mean that they are facts of life for the person who is contemplating accepting Jesus and becoming one of His followers.

The first is stated by Jesus in the form of an illustration, “A tree is identified by its fruit” (Luke 6:44). You can see, Jesus is simply stating a fact of our world. We walk up to an apple tree and know that it is an apple tree by the apples hanging on it – simple, right?

For anyone who truly has accepted Jesus, a transformation has taken place and a new person has been formed inside the body of the person we’ve always known. The new person will slowly make its way to the outward part of the old body. New ways of doing things, saying things, and treating people will begin to show up. This happens as the Holy Spirit grows the seed of the new life inside a new believer. As Jesus reminds us, a “good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart.” (Luke 6:45).

As a sapling takes time to turn into a fully fruit bearing tree, so the new believer will take some time to fully act and behave as a mature believer. The amount of time depends on the diligence of the new believer in seeking godly training from their own Bible reading, prayer, and the consistent attendance of worship with other believers. The Kingdom reality is that transformation and fruit will come to every true believer!

(We must also realize that we do not always recognize our own “fruit”. If God allowed us to see all the good that He is doing through us, we would have a sinful pride to overcome!)

In my own personal life, I have wondered many times, am I really being fruitful for God’s Kingdom? It is during these times that I must, by faith, trust John 15:5: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce must fruit. For Apart from me you can do nothing”. In most of our lives, we do not see the fruit we produce for God’s Kingdom, but we can have a joy knowing that God is making us fruitful, as long as we remain in Him as best as we know how!

The second reality that Jesus teaches in this section of scripture, is closely aligned to the first one we looked at: true Christ-followers actually “do” what Jesus has taught us in the scriptures. In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked a question: “so why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord’ when you don’t do what I say?”.

In the days that Jesus lived on the earth, the term “Lord” was a term that meant someone had authority and was worthy to be listened to and obeyed. As was His habit, Jesus offered an illustration to drive home this truth. It was about a builder that didn’t put a solid foundation under his house. It didn’t take much bad weather to destroy the house. Jesus said that “anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground without a foundation” (Luke 6:49).

Allow me to ask you a personal question: can you think of a Bible truth that you know is true but you have yet to obey it on a consistent basis? If so, Jesus is trying to lovingly warn you of the destruction that lies ahead for you if you don’t repent and make that truth a reality in your daily lifestyle.

Let’s close by returning to my title for today’s devotional: “Kingdom Realities”.

What you’ve just read are not simply my opinions. This devotional is full of scripture, trusted words of Jesus! My prayer for every reader is that you would examine your life, making sure you sincerely accept Jesus, as your Lord and Savior, and are putting into play all the truths of Jesus that you are presently aware of.

Father, please show me anything that might be hindering my relationship with you. I ask this in Jesus’s Name, amen.