And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more...filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1.9-11)

One day in our lives we made a decision. We decided that we would ask Jesus to plant a seed of righteousness within us. As good and right as we could possibly be on our own we could never produce the fruit of righteousness in our own power. As much as we could love humanity, seek to mitigate the damage of injustice in the world, we could never produce the fruit of the one true righteous God among the nations.

And so that day we prayed. We prayed like Saul, blinded on the road to Damascus, waiting for God to restore our sight and restore our broken-down souls. We prayed like Peter, wet on the seashore from his swim to Jesus, as he sat across the fire seeking restoration.

And today we pray again. We pray that Jesus, our source of righteous would fill us with His presence and grow the fruit of God-glorifying righteousness. We pray that our love would grow beyond its borders more and more. We pray that we would know God more. Seek Him more. Be made more pure and blameless. We pray that Jesus, our great and awesome God, would generously fill our rotting tree roots with the fertilizer of His attention.

And then, as we feel life flood our leafy veins, we remember we are not lone trees on a hill, but one in a vast orchard. Like Paul, we lift up this prayer for our brothers and sisters. We pray we would all grow in the beautiful presence of Christ and bear the fruit of righteousness that brings Him His well-deserved glory.

Thank you, Jesus for cultivating my soul, the soil of my life; and thank you for the believers you've gathered around me in your field.