Scripture Reading
Hosea 10:12
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
Reflection
Hosea's agricultural image is arresting: unplowed ground is hard ground, soil that cannot receive seed. We become spiritually hard through neglect, distraction, and persistent turning away from God. But the remedy is available: seek the Lord, break up the fallow soil, and wait for the rain of His righteousness. Is there an area of your heart that has grown hard? It is never too late to begin again.
Prayer for Today
Creator God, forgive our moments of ingratitude,
the spiritual blindness that prevents us
from appreciating the wonder that is this world,
the endless cycle of nature,
of life and death and rebirth.
Forgive us for taking without giving
reaping without sowing.
Open our eyes to see
our lips to praise
our hands to share
May our feet tread lightly on the path we tread
and our footsteps be worthy of following
for they lead to you.
the spiritual blindness that prevents us
from appreciating the wonder that is this world,
the endless cycle of nature,
of life and death and rebirth.
Forgive us for taking without giving
reaping without sowing.
Open our eyes to see
our lips to praise
our hands to share
May our feet tread lightly on the path we tread
and our footsteps be worthy of following
for they lead to you.
Amen.