Listen

Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit.

Galatians 6:7-8

Think

My grandma got down on her knees and showed me how to cover up the little seedlings. She said, “It’s like folding a baby in a blanket, we must be gentle and loving.” I proudly chose purple hull peas, and each day I would go out into the garden to water, pick the weeds, and wait for a sprout. The vegetable I chose was a little finicky because if it was not well cared for it would get choked out by the weeds and be a bad harvest.

The way we care for our words and actions can cause a good or bad harvest, too. Often, we advocate for only ourselves rather than for the good of the whole. We can be so focused on ourselves that we allow the weeds to choke out the rest of the good that is available for all people. If we choose to plant for just one — for just ourselves — we will never have the harvest to share, feed, and nourish the multitude in the goodness of the Spirit.

Timothy Peoples

Pray

Lord, may I be Miracle-Gro™ for selflessness, ready to advocate and tend for the good of the whole instead of just thinking of myself.

Amen.

Go

May God console you, may God affirm you, may God shepherd you, may God delight you out of the inexhaustible stores of divine love and joy.

Terry J. Stokes, from “Benediction”
in Prayers for the People: Things We Didn’t Know We Could Say to God (2021)