Shower the world with goodness!

John Wesley's most famous quote is probably, "Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.” I love this quote! What if we all try to live this in our daily lives…really!

Galatians 5:22–23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…”

 As we approach next week’s election here in America, I am mindful of the turbulent, anxiety producing time in which we live and I wonder what can I do?  How do I go about bringing goodness and kindness into a world that feels chaotic at times?  The fruit of the Spirit comes to mind. 

The fruit of the Spirit is something we live out as followers of Christ.  We can be intentional in allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through us to others.  My friend, Mike would say we can become Love in the world.  Or to use Wesley’s invitation…

Be loving all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be joyful and embody joy, all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be peaceful and bring peace to your circumstances all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be patient all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be kind and bring kindness all you can, to all the you do and in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Bring goodness to all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be faithful all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Be gentle and bring gentleness to all you can, all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

Practice self control with all you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can with all the zeal you can , as long as ever you can.

I wrote out all of these so you can see the magnitude of the possibilities of impacting our world in a positive way if each of us try to live in this way.

Consider the ways in which you bring the fruit of the Spirit into the world each day.  What is your strongest fruit, the one that comes easily and naturally for you?  Which fruit is challenging and an invitation to stretch? 

 Imagine the impact each person’s intentional effort to bring the fruit of the Spirit to the world will have?  And not only do we want to let these fruits flow through us, we want to do so with great gusto and exuberance as John Wesley invites.

 A great example of a person bringing goodness to the world at this time is Steve Garnaas-Holmes.  Steve is a retired pastor, speaker, writer of music and poetry.  His daily newsletter from www.unfoldinglight.net is a true blessing.  Each morning he shares a poem or prayer that flows from scripture. 

Here is one of Steve’s poems that touched me deeply this week…

Blessings!

Mary Ann
           

  “Please, God...”

We plead for God to intervene,
even “just this once...”
But I don't think that's how God works:
the Holocaust would have been a good time to do so.
No, God doesn't stop the tyrant,
or nudge the car on the icy road.
God is not a Big Guy with a magic finger
he deploys now and then (but not always).

God is the Love at the heart of all being,
as constant as gravity, infinitely attentive,
and can't be more present or active than right now.

When we ask for God's help, 
what we mean is to align ourselves
with the great power of God's grace already at work.
Like musicians in perfect tune, 
we create harmonics, notes that sound
though none of us is producing them.
Our harmony with God creates an energy field
that does indeed change things.

In troubled times it takes great concentration
to align ourselves with grace instead of force,
with love instead of fear.
We begin by allowing ourselves to be loved,
along with all the rest of Creation,
and then we fall into that love,
and let that love flow through us into the world.

I think that's what we mean when we pray,
“Please, God...”

Steve Garnaas-Holmes