Our challenging age demands our committed discipleship. We cannot sit idly by, as time slips by. We are asked to invest ourselves in change, and divest ourselves of all that prevents the kingdom of God coming into being. Leslie Hunter, Bishop of Sheffield 1939 to 1962, argues that the tiny agents of change – the yeast, sparks and catalysts that could be you and I – are all God has to bring about change. Writing in The Seed and the Fruit he offers this parable:
As the threats of war and the cries of the dispossessed were sounding in our ears, humanity fell into an uneasy sleep. In our sleep we dreamed that we had entered the spacious store in which the gifts of God to humanity are kept, and addressed the angel behind the counter, saying:
We have run out of the fruits of the Spirit. Can you restock us?
When the angel seemed about to say no, we burst out:
In place of violence, terrorism, war, afflictions and injustice, lying and lust, we need love, joy, peace, integrity, discipline. Without these we shall all be lost.
And then the angel behind the counter replied,
We do not stock fruits here. Only seeds.
From: An Advent Manifesto by Martyn Percy
Lent gives us the opportunity for some gardening
Through the Lent Prayer Blog, I hope to encourage us all to try growing the seeds of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There will be 2 days to consider how God gives us each gift and then 3 days to consider how we can grow and nurture the seeds of that fruit.