Sometimes, what doesn’t make it into a Sunday sermon still deserves to be shared. Here’s a story I planned to use but left on the cutting room floor. This story, often shared in Christian circles, is attributed to an unknown author but carries a profound message for all of us. I believe it has a message we all need to hear as we step into a new year!
There was once a woman who longed for peace in the world and peace in her heart, but she was deeply frustrated. The world seemed to be unraveling, and her personal life felt far from whole.
One day, in an effort to escape her thoughts, she decided to go shopping. Wandering into a store at the mall, she was stunned to find Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Him immediately—He looked just like the depictions in sacred art she had seen.
Working up her courage, she approached and asked, “Excuse me, but are you Jesus?”
“I AM,” He replied.
“Do you work here?” she asked.
“In a way,” Jesus said. “I own the store.”
“What do you sell here?”
“Just about everything,” He said with a smile. “Feel free to browse, make a list of what you want, and then bring it to me. I’ll see what I can do for you.”
Excited, the woman walked through the aisles, filling her list with hope-filled dreams: peace on earth, no more hunger, families living in harmony, the wise stewardship of creation are just a few. When she returned, her list was long and ambitious.
Jesus carefully read her list, smiled, and began pulling out items from behind the counter—small packets labeled as seeds.
“What are these?” she asked.
“Seed packets,” Jesus replied. “This is a catalog store. You don’t get the finished product here. Instead, you take these seeds home, plant them, water them, nurture them, and help them grow. In time, others will reap the benefits.”
Disheartened, the woman left the store without purchasing anything.
The story reminds us that God rarely hands us the finished product. Instead, He entrusts us with seeds—opportunities to cultivate love, justice, kindness, and peace. It’s easy to dream of a better world or a more harmonious life, but the real work happens when we plant, nurture, and tend the seeds He gives us.
As we begin 2025, let’s embrace the seeds God has placed in our hands. Let’s commit to planting them in our homes, our workplaces, and our communities. With God’s help, and through our faithfulness, they can grow into something beautiful—blessings we may never fully see but that others will someday enjoy.
God’s Blessings,
Your illustration blessed my life. It is related to last night when I was sleepless with personal worry. At 1:30 a.m. I read the second chapter of Hebrews in preparation for my duties to open and close the weekly prayer meeting at The Virginian, an independent senior apartment where I live. The devotion in, Our Daily Bread, used the letter to the Hebrews to address their confusion and fear, that threatened to devastate their spiritual lives. In the devotional thoughts penned by Tim Gustafson, A woman who was working with the deaf, mastered sign language so well that she was able to minister beautifully with these handicapped people. The secret to her success was, that she accepted the method of communication that God used when he sent His son to be born as every human baby — helpless and innocent — to learn to live as every human being, so that ALL human beings have the opportunity to meet Jesus, who was made “lower that the angels” for a “little while” so that we could learn from him how to face every hardship of life with confidence that God, through Jesus, “knows and understands”. I want to plant the seeds He provides to grow crops of “love, justice, kindness and peace” with others.
Thank you so much Tom — what a blessing to see how you are planting seeds wherever you are! God bless, Pastor Bob
As a “farm girl,” the seeds story touched my heart. It bears out what I learned from my parents: Do something to help. Do anything, but do something. Whatever one contributes may be but a drop in the bucket for the solution of a bigger problem, but it’s a contribution though a small one. And many small contributions can have a big impact.
Reminds me of the story about the person walking along the seashore tossing starfish back into the ocean. No, he can’t save each one, but he can save some of them! That makes a difference. I think that sums up my purpose in life: Make a difference.
Thank you so much Nancy! I love the starfish story! Pastor Bob