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I love hiking. 

Being surrounded by nature teaches me important insights about God.

There’s an invisible force, it seems, at work in nature, because wherever life is possible, it grows.

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For example, moss grows on solid rock; even flowers nestle inside the rock’s tiny cracks.

When trees fall and begin to decay, other plants sprout up around it.

Even in the most uninhabitable places on earth like the desert, cacti stand tall. 

Nature never gives up. Wherever life is possible, it grows.

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The same is true with God. 

The Holy Spirit is like an invisible force, determined to make himself known in this world, whenever and wherever possible. 

In the Gospel, for example, Jesus tells his disciples that they will be led before kings, scourged, beaten, imprisoned, and hated.

They will even put to death.

But whenever they’re persecuted in one town, don’t stop. Flee to the next. Keep spreading seeds of faith, because some of those seeds will bear fruit.

Like that invisible force of nature, God finds a way to thrive; if there’s no life in one town, he’ll take root in the next.

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Think of how many opportunities we have to plant seeds of faith throughout the day, even in the simplest of ways.

Speaking a kind word; listening to another; returning a phone call; offering a prayer for a person in need; giving a reason to hope.

They may seem insignificant, like tiny seeds. But that’s all God needs to take root and start growing.

How, then, might I plant a seed today?

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One of my favorite books is Barbara Kingsolver’s, The Poisonwood Bible. 

It’s the story about a Baptist minister from Georgia named Doug, who decides that his calling in life is to evangelize Africa.

So, he drags his wife and three young girls along with him.

Nervous about the weight limit for luggage, Doug’s daughters pack as much as they can on themselves: several dresses each, countless pairs of socks, hair pins, Band-Aids, a hand-mirror, and cake mix.

Everything hidden beneath their coats.

“But Daddy,” one of his daughter notes, “he only brought the Word of God… Said it’s all he needed!”

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As with every other teaching, Doug took Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel literally. 

Perhaps too literally.

“Do not take … a sack for the journey,” Jesus says, “or a second tunic, or sandals, or a walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep” (Matthew 10:9-10).

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Doug was right in his desire to share the Gospel with others, even in faraway places. 

But it’s how he did it that became his demise. 

He was aggressive and forceful; stubborn; rarely willing to listen; determined to be right.

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Faith is important to us, as it was to Doug. We, too, should want to share the Gospel.

But it’s how we do it that often makes the difference.

For example, how patient am I with people who have little or no faith? Do I seek to understand their perspective? Or am I forceful in making my beliefs known?

Am I merciful to others? Or do I spend my time judging them, instead?

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The best way to share the Gospel is not by preaching it, as Doug reminds us.

But by living it well.

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“His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

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Sheep are defenseless creatures.

They have no claws, no paws; neither venom, nor fangs. If attacked, they have no way of defending themselves.

When left alone, they become nature’s next snack.

Sheep aren’t smart animals, but they know their strength does not lie in themselves; it’s determined by their closeness to the shepherd.

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The same is true for us.

How many times have we felt, “troubled or abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd?” Alone, left to our own devise. 

Maybe we’re going through a divorce; feeling isolated because of COVID; or worried about the future.

At times our mind can spin us into a hole so deep it feels like there’s no way out.

But there is.

It can be a hard lesson to learn, but ultimately our strength does not reside in ourselves; it’s determined by how close we are to Jesus.