Page 15 - Living Light 89

Wednesday June 11 - Busy, busy, very very busy!
“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.” Mark 4:7
Following the Covid lockdown, church attendance fell dramatically, particularly for children. Perhaps this is an indication that families were doing other things like sports activities and outings on Sunday, as new routines came into being. If you ask Google why people are not attending church, the second answer it comes up with is ‘busy schedules’.
While Sunday worship is not an absolute marker of the temperature of the nation’s faith, nevertheless it is true that there are so many other opportunities and activities that fill our time today. So it’s easy to see why Jesus talked about the ‘cares of life’ hindering our spiritual growth.
Is my spiritual life fruitful? That is a question that I ask myself at the beginning of each new year. Jesus points out that we can be so busy doing a variety of things which may look okay but could actually be stifling our growth in faith. I am ashamed to say that I can be involved in a lot of things without achieving very much.
Martin Luther is quoted as having said: “I have so much to do today that I’m going to need to spend three hours in prayer in order to be able to get it all done.” Now surely that’s a good lesson for all of us!
Heavenly Father, forgive me for being too busy to pray, and help me to follow Luther’s example as I order my daily schedule. I really want to grow spiritually. Amen.
Thursday June 12 - At last a crop!
“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Mark 4:8
It’s so exciting to see a nice crop of tomatoes on the plants you have watered and cared for; they taste so much better than the fruits from the shop! Jesus finishes this parable by talking about the seed falling on good soil and producing a crop. ‘The seed’ refers to the word of God and it is always good. ‘The soil’, however, represents our hearts and lives; these can be good or bad as we have seen during the last few days. ‘Good soil’ is those who hear the word of God and, undeterred by the culture around them, put it into practice continually through good times and bad. This is what produces a harvest.
Jesus himself died at the young age of 33, leaving behind a small band of disciples. Who could have foreseen the harvest of his life in the 21st century, when it is estimated that there are 2.4 billion Christians globally, making it the largest religion in the world? As we follow, serve and worship Jesus, come what may, he will show us how to be fruitful, as he is definitely the Lord of the harvest!
The harvest is to be enjoyed by the sower. Everything we do is for God. Jesus never saw the harvest of his life while he was on earth and we too may never see the full extent of what we do for him either. We are called to be faithful, as he was.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, please make me faithful like you. Amen.
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