Sowing Seed

I finally got my garden in.

It was a little late this year, but so were the frosts.

But I’m glad that it is now finally ready, and I look forward to tomatoes and beans and cucumbers and peppers and garlic and lettuce and lots of fresh herbs!!

Sometimes I like to think that what we’re doing here at Prince of Peace is like planting a garden. We’re making the ground ready, sowing seeds and then watering, and hoping and praying that they will sprout and grow!

But here’s the thing. There are no guarantees. The first beans I planted this year were old seeds, and none of them came up.

There are no guarantees that any work we do will bear fruit. The bearing fruit part is the work of the Holy Spirit, not ours. Our job is to spread the seed of God’s love and see what grows.

I don’t always know why some things germinate one year and then the next year not at all. Sometimes it’s the weather; sometimes it’s the pests and local deer; sometimes I don’t have a clue.

My job is not the beauty and magic of growth and maturation. My job is to prepare the soil, sow the seeds, and make sure there is enough water.

At Prince of Peace, that means we have educational programs available, and a full menu of ways to serve and work out your faith. It means we preach the gospel and share the good news of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. It means we baptize and confirm and provide programming for all ages. It means we treat all people with dignity and respect.

We sow seed here and allow the Holy Spirit to further the growth. But the kind of seed we sow still matters.

What kinds of seeds are you sowing these days? Seeds of nurture and sharing? Seeds of honesty and caring? Seeds of goodness and love?

I hope so. Because when we spread the love of Christ, that love will come back to us in a thousand ways.

Continuing to grow with you,

Pastor John Morris