Daily Devotional for March 7, 2018
The Fruit of the Spirit (Part 2)
Lynn visited her garden every day, and her tomato plants, which she and
her sister had named Love, Joy, Patience, and Goodness, grew and grew. Then one evening dark clouds began to gather on the horizon. At first Lynn watched from her bedroom window as droplets of water fell from the sky, but soon she could no longer see her poor little tomato plants through the sheets of falling rain. Suddenly lightning cracked in the sky, and the wind blew so hard that a tree fell inches from the window. Maddie called for Lynn to come down into the basement.
In the morning, when the storm was over, Lynn and Maddie walked timidly to the garden. The grass was swampy, and several branches littered the ground. Lynn’s and Maddie’s rain boots made great slurping noises as they plodded through the mud. Both girls were afraid of what they might find in the garden, but when Lynn approached, she let out a shout of excitement. “They’re okay!”
All four tomato plants were unhurt. Lynn was about to give Maddie a hug when she heard a sob from next door. Lynn looked over to see Keith, a neighbor boy who was often mean to her and had made fun of her tomato plants, crying. The wind had lifted his tomato plants up by the roots and thrown them across the yard, where the rain had pounded them down into the ground. Now the space of earth where Keith’s garden had been was full of nothing but green mush.
Maddie leaned down and whispered into Lynn’s ear as they watched Keith go back into his house. “Do you remember what the first fruit of the Spirit is?”
“Love,” said Lynn. “Nothing grows without love.”
The girls whispered together for a moment longer, then Maddie brought out a shovel. Carefully she dug up Love, the tomato plant that had just begun to sprout little green fruits. They were careful not to damage the roots as they lifted the plant out of the ground. Together they took the plant next door. Maddie dug a spot in the ruined mush of Keith’s garden. Then, ever so carefully, Lynn placed the tomato plant inside the hole. She filled the hole with dirt and planted Love there in the center of her neighbor’s garden. – Kristin Beaven
How about you?
Is it hard for you to love someone who’s been mean to you? The Bible tells us that love is the most important way we show others who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. He loved people who were mean to him, and when we’re kind to others—even when they’re not kind to us—we introduce them to the love of Jesus. Plant seeds of His love by showing kindness to others.
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