But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23, NIV
Further reading: Galatians 5:16-23
I crouched in the garden, one knee indenting the earth, the other propping up an elbow. I stared at a cluster of mystery plants in front of me. While weeding green beans, I caught the unmistakable whiff of earthy, green tomato plants. Two rows over, thirty-two tomato plants grew properly in wire cages.
I looked back at the cluster of plants in front of me, and remembered — this spot was where my tomato plants grew last year. As exhaustion set in at the end of the growing season, I realized that my eyes had been bigger than my capability to can tomatoes. I’d forsaken keeping up with the harvest, canned what I could, shared with my neighbors, and let the rest drop to an earthen grave.
I walked up and down the rows of beans and counted 15 unplanned tomato plants — the results of last year’s forgotten tomatoes.
All fruit harbors seeds. In fact, our lives each bear fruit – whether the fruits of the Spirit, or the fruits of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). In every interaction, we drop our fruit into people’s lives.
Paul urges us to live by the Spirit. To do so, we must be regular in our study of the Bible and bring our concerns to God in prayer. As we depend on God’s Spirit to help us in our daily life, we will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. That fruit will drop into the lives of those who surround us. Whether we realize it or not, our fruit contains seeds that God might use to grow His Spirit in others.
What seeds are you planting into the lives of those around you today?
Lord, please help me be intentional today about dropping seeds into the lives of others that might produce the fruits of Your Spirit. Amen.
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson
Congratulations to Martie who won the drawing last week for Cecil Murphey’s book!
I once had a rogue tomato plant come up in my flower garden three years in a row. I had never once planted tomatoes!
Ooh a mystery plant!!
I love this! Thank you, Amelia. This is a good way to close out my day. <3