1 Peter 1:22-23 (TPT)
“Now, because of your obedience to the truth, you have purified your very souls, and this empowers you to be full of love for your fellow believers. So express this sincere love toward one another passionately and with a pure heart. For through the eternal and living Word of God you have been born again. And this “seed” that He planted within you can never be destroyed but will live and grow inside of you forever.“
The parables of the seeds tells us that our hearts are like gardens. We plant seeds there all the time. Whatever we sow, we also reap. When we sow discord, unforgiveness, sarcasm, or selfishness, that’s also what we reap in our relationships with others. When we were born again, God planted in us the “seeds” for all the fruits of the Spirit. We have a seed for each characteristic. It’s up to us to cultivate that seed so that it can grow.
Peter tells us that we have developed good soil in our hearts for the seeds of God by purifying our soul with our obedience to God’s truth. Because we have hearts full of good soil, the seeds that God has planted their can grow and produce a harvest. We have enabled love for others to grow in our hearts because God has planted the seed of love in the good soil of our hearts. We cultivate that by actively loving others from a pure heart. That means we can’t just act lovingly toward others when we directly benefit from it. We have to love others, even when they can do nothing for us in return.
The good news is that as we get better and better and loving others, the seed of love will grow bigger and stronger with in our hearts. It’s an “incorruptible seed.” Nothing can make it fail to grow. Nothing can damage it where it will not produce a harvest. It can’t rot. The seed is good. It has everything required to produce good fruit. The rest is up to us.
Father, I thank you that the seeds you plant in our hearts are incorruptible. If we are faithful to cultivate those seeds by obedience to your word and by spending time with your word and the Holy Spirit, then that seed will produce fruit. It is up to us whether or not we cultivate the seed. Once again, Father, you have provided everything we have need of and given us free will to choose what we would do with what you have provided. Thank you that you have taken care of what we need. You have given us the seeds we need to be full of the fruit of your Spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A Beautiful Mess 