THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL 28TH DECEMBER 2025, SUNDAY MESSAGE
The Seeds We Sow
Rhea Sherburne Nyquist (Minnesota, USA)
Today’s Reading
Matthew 13:1-9
The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. – Matthew 13:23 (NIV)
One Sunday, the lay youth leader at church had the children act out a scene from an old TV show. The moral of the lesson was that each of us has a mission from God to fulfill in our daily lives. I still think about that lesson every day. Since then, it has been my custom to ask God, “What is my mission today?” Then I write down my daily to-do list, which usually includes humdrum tasks and chores. But occasionally I am inspired to add something else — send a note to a friend, call someone unable to leave home, or do a task that takes me out of my comfort zone.
One day I mentioned to the youth leader how much that lesson had meant to me, and she replied, “I don’t remember that at all.” How curious, I thought. However, I have found that we often sow seeds of kind words or good deeds that we forget. They may go unappreciated, but sometimes they land where they do good. So I vowed to keep writing that list and checking it off in hopes that some God-inspired actions or words will fall on good soil, exactly where they need to be.
Thought for the Day
With God’s help, my seeds of kindness can make a difference.
Prayer Focus
Lay leaders
Today’s Prayer
Dear God, open our hearts to your will, and help us to reach out to others with kind words and deeds. Thank you for surprising us with the joy of seeing our seeds of kindness take root. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
The Upper Room Devotional 28th December 2025 is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. Read More
