Helping yourself can help others
Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.
– Matthew 13:31-32
Think about a time you received something from someone else. What opportunities were there for you to use the gift your received to help another? Is it enough to just say ‘thank you’ when we receive something, or does one good turn deserve another? What do many small acts add up to? Could we ourselves turn a mustard seed into a tree?
In our reading, Jesus tells us that small beginnings can have wide reach. If we can act generously as a response to the generosity we have received, we can be the seed from which wide branches of generosity can spread out.
When we are low, it can feel hard to feel like we have anything to offer others, when in fact, even simple acts like listening and talking can be small offerings of generosity that lift others around us.
God assures us that we can rely on him to lift us up when we are down. God is love, and his love is always with us. With his strength we can give forward of the many gifts we are blessed with. Just as Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another as he loved them, so our small acts of generosity can spread God’s love to others and throughout the wider world.
– Helen Simpkiss, Regional Giving Advisor (South)
Reflect at the end of the day on everything you have been given today by others. In what ways can you give back to these people?
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 
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