Verse of the Day for May 12

Paul thinks like a farmer here. What you sow, you reap, and the field has no opinion of its own. he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

A difficult conversation is a sowing moment. The words you choose in the tense ten minutes with your brother, your landlord or your manager are seeds. Some will be sown to the flesh, to winning and to pride. Some can be sown to the Spirit.

Then comes the encouragement. let us not be weary in well doing. Paul knows that doing good in a hard conversation is tiring. You hold your tongue, you answer gently, and nothing seems to change.

The harvest comes in due season, and the season is God's, not ours. You may see no fruit by the end of the call. Paul only asks that you do not faint before it comes.

Verse ten gives the practical step. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men. Before you pick up the phone to the relative you have been avoiding, ask what seed you want to leave in the ground when you hang up.

You are responsible for the sowing, not for the timing of the harvest.

Gentleness in a hard conversation is never wasted.