Fruit for Eternity

It can be so easy to get caught up in the world and in our own lives and disregard the fact that there is a life after death that is far greater than the one we are living now. I often find myself in daily life looking at the things I am doing and the things that fill my day and wondering, how many of these things am I doing with eternity in mind? What eternal fruit am I producing? In what ways am I building and coming into agreement with identities that will last into eternity?

Just as I began wrestling with this, the Lord showed me specific instructions in the Bible that speak to living a life with eternity in mind. 

Here are the ways the Lord has shown me to combat the temptation to be consumed by our own lives on this earth and instead be more concerned about eternity. Some of these truths are so basic and need only the explanation of His word, but each of them hold eternal value in the kingdom. They are not just suggestions, but are commands the Lord gives to each of us who are walking with Him:

1.    Put others first. God reminded me of the verse in Matthew 19:30 that says, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” Jesus’ ministry is a constant reflection of putting the people around Him before Himself. I believe to have an eternal perspective is to see the value of others and die to ourselves daily.

a.       Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather in humility count others as more significant than yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Counting others as more significant than yourself is definitely a humbling process. It is a process of lowering yourself and seeing your wants as less significant than another’s wants and desires.

b.      Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

c.       1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

d.      1 Corinthians 10:24 “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”

2.    Get uncomfortable. Like a lot. Our society has made it so easy for us to become comfortable. Comfortable with complacency is a dangerous place to be. I felt the Lord challenging me to get uncomfortable in my daily life, to go out of my way to put others first, and to be intentional about the things I am doing instead of just doing what is easy. I can feel Him continually calling me to lay down my life for others and stretch myself to follow what the Holy Spirit is leading me to do even in the things that feel awkward and very uncomfortable.

a.       Am I walking through the narrow door? Or am I spending my life walking through the door that is most easily accessible and requires the least amount of sacrifice? Luke 13:22-30 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, “Sir, open the door for us.”

b.      Am I laying down my life daily for what Jesus wants and not what I want? Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

3.    Be generous. People that are eternally focused do not hold onto earthly possessions, they give generously and trust God to provide. There is more to generosity than giving up money. It can apply to resources, time, or energy. You can be generous in the resources you give to another person and the way you sacrifice your own needs for the needs of another. You can sacrifice time and energy and generously give to those who are in need. I have come to the realization of the truth that my life is not my own. Therefore, the things I feel I have to sacrifice or give away to others actually don’t belong to me in the first place, they belong to God. Let Him be honored and glorified through the spending of His money and the time, energy, and resources that He has gifted me with.

a.       Generosity produces a humbled heart and a selfless life. Psalm 119:36 “Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.”

b.      Generosity produces true riches and gives opportunity for the Lord to bless. Proverbs 11:24 “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”

4.    Be watchful. This is an intense challenge. It is a challenge to be watchful and wait for the promises of God sometimes. But would promises really be promises if there wasn't a time of waiting and trusting in the person who made the promise? And what does it look like to be faithful in the waiting? I feel myself asking, ‘Will I be found waiting for the master and doing His will or at an hour when I am eating and drinking and getting drunk by the flesh?’ (Luke 12:35-48) Being watchful means following the commands He has given us in the Word and living out the purpose He has placed on our lives to the best of our ability until He comes back. 

a.       I want to be prepared with oil in my lamp and a readiness in my spirit whenever the Lord comes back again. I do not want to be found being caught up in the things that satisfy the flesh.

                                                                          i.      Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation My God will hear me.”

                                                                        ii.      Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

b.      We also must be watchful of the enemy and the ways he seeks to destroy us. 1 Peter 5:8“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

5.    Do not worry. Do not waste the precious time we have on earth by worrying. With eternity in mind, we can recognize that the worries of this life are small in comparison to the joy that is coming. Worrying about tomorrow does nothing but waste time and cause God grief. Fear used to be part of my daily life. I went through a season in middle school and into high school where I lived in fear every day. I was paralyzed by fear in a lot of situations and in relationships as well. The Lord has freed me from fear over the past few years and I have found so much joy in getting to actually live my life. I realized how much I had missed out on because of fear of people, fear of darkness, and fear of the unknown. I pray each of you can be freed from fear and worry and live your life to the fullest in Jesus’ name.

a. Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

b.   Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

6.    Do not be a hypocrite! Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. Nothing is hidden from Him. Who you are in secret is who you really are. We will need to relive an account of the things we have done on this earth when we enter into eternity. I want to live my life well so I have the best story to tell when I get there. :)

a.       Luke 12:1-3 “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”

7.    Fear God. He is the One to please. We should be most focused on pleasing Him and not offending Him rather than not offending other people. There is a holy fear of God that gives us reverence for our all-powerful, all-knowing God. We must fear the One who has the authority to decide where we will spend our eternity.

a.        Luke 12:4-7 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell.” 

8.    Tell the World. Tell the world who Jesus is because this is what they need to know for eternity! They need to know Him and we are the ones to tell them! Lord help us! 

a.       Luke 12: 8-10 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.”

b.      Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

9.    Sit at His feet. We can follow the example of Mary as we become people who sit at Jesus’ feet instead of getting caught up in the expectations of the world. Take time to sit at His feet and listen to Him speak. Rest with Him and worship Him. Those with eternity in mind spend time talking with and getting to know better the One they want to spend eternity with. 

a.      Luke 10:38-42 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made…the Lord answered ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken aware from her.”

10. Be full of joy because God is good even in this difficult life. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Sometimes we must talk to our souls. Sometimes we need to tell our souls to have joy because our circumstances do not bring joy. When being mindful of eternity, this life can be filled with such joy because we have hope for what is to come and we know this sin-filled place is not our home and there is so much hope in Jesus Christ!

a.      Jesus was full of joy so we should be too! Luke 10: 21 “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.”

b.      Why wait until we are in heaven to have the fullness of joy that life with Jesus gives? Take hold of the fullness of joy that there is in His presence. Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

11. Operate in the power of the of the Holy Spirit to set His people free! Follow the example of Jesus who had the best eternal perspective. When Jesus left this earth, He gave us a helper who is with us always. The Holy Spirit helps us bring heaven to earth. He helps us make our eternity a reality.

a.      Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..." 

b.      Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”

After getting this revelation, I realized I have a lot of work to do in becoming more eternally focused! But after hearing what the Lord has said, it has given me a holy fear and a greater revelation of the seriousness of what is to come. Eternity is something that is built into the hearts of those who have been marked by the love of God.



Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”


 It is a home we are continually longing for, but a reality that we desire to see on this earth.

                                 Manifest your kingdom realm,

and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth

just as it is fulfilled in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 TPT)

Eternity is like FOREVER, so let’s be prepared and use the time we have on this earth wisely! I pray each of you will discover the eternal fruit and fullness that comes with living a life that is focused on an eternity with Jesus. It brings immeasurably more joy, comfort, power, freedom, and purpose to life on this earth! Let's start living like we have eternity ingrained in our hearts!

♥ Melissa