Bible Readings
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-27)
Thought
I love my garden, it gives me a great deal of pleasure. I have always felt a sense of achievement when a plant that I have planted starts to grow and flourish under my care. Until three years ago these plants had always been bought from a garden centre or given to me by friends and family. But three years ago I sowed my first seeds and now each April the windowsills in my house start filling up with small seedlings as the growing season begins again. There is nothing quite like seeing a plant grow from seed and nothing quite as satisfying as eating the produce of a plant that you have grown.
Seeds are incredible; they contain such potential in them. They come in many different shapes and sizes; some are so small that they look more like specks of dust in your hand when you are planting them while others are large, colourful and shiny. In order for a seed to grow you have to be aware of the conditions that will enable them to germinate; some will want to be quite deep in compost whilst others want to lie on top of the soil, some will need a bit of heat to get them going whilst others want cold and even darkness to get them started. In order to be successful growing seeds I have learnt to read the packets very carefully and to follow the instructions.
In Luke’s gospel we read about an expert in the law who asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ reply asks him if he has read the instructions, for if he has and he follows them he will have eternal life. We might be asking God what we need to do in this current situation, and the answer surely comes back the same, we need to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Prayer
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you that you love us just as we are, that you created each one of us different and with so much potential. We ask that you will show us how best to show love to our neighbours during this difficult time.
Amen
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