Read Luke 13:1–9
The practice of digging around a tree is common when it is not growing well and, in turn, not producing the fruit it was planted for. When the soil around the tree is disturbed, the roots are damaged in the digging, and then the tree has to grow new roots, which, in turn, strengthen the tree to bear fruit for the next season.
Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that doesn’t bear fruit. The owner says, ‘Well cut it down’, but the man taking care of it says, ‘Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it’.
The tree doesn’t need to be destroyed but disturbed and fed instead.
We are like this tree. We were planted in the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus and given a purpose – to bear fruit. Yet it is easy to drift away from Jesus and begin to follow the way of the world and the way of ourselves. We find it easier to listen to the devil, tempting us with lies in the idea that ‘it is my life and my body; I can do what I like’.
But Jesus has chosen you as his own for his purpose. To bear fruit. The fruit of God’s love in action toward those around you. You are created to be a blessing to others. You are blessed to bless others with God’s love in action.
When the word of the Lord challenges you to live differently, it is like Jesus digging at your roots – the roots in self rather than in the word. You see, the word is the fertiliser of life, and the word of Jesus Christ will feed and sustain you in bearing the fruit of God’s love in action.
When Jesus digs at your roots, hear the word, and be ready for his word to guide, challenge, heal and restore you. Be prepared for his word to nourish your hungry soul, ready to go out into the world with new growth and fruit that blesses others.
Dear Jesus, dig into my roots of selfishness and worldly ways. Let me grow in you to bear fruit for others. Help me to be a blessing to everyone I meet today. Feed me, nourish me, and strengthen me daily in your holy word. Amen.
Pastor Mark lives with his two daughters aged 11 and 8 in Redcliffe, just north of Brisbane. He currently serves as a pastor in the LCANZ and is passionate about sharing Jesus’ love with those around him. Pastor Mark loves to travel with his family to see the wonders of God’s creation and meet people who share their stories of what God has done for them.
Going first
by Sivin Kit
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First be reconciled to your brother or sister (Matthew 5:24b).
Read Matthew 5:21–26
The room went silent. A participant had openly challenged a presenter. In my Malaysian–Chinese world, public criticism and embarrassment cut deep, especially when the critic holds more power. My instinct was to let it fade, but this would signal the behaviour was acceptable. I didn’t voice it then, but later, I found the courage to reach out. We sat down, and I said, ‘Your outburst wasn’t right.’ The conversation between us was uncomfortable. But paradoxically necessary. And liberating.
The pull to avoid conflict is real. True peace can’t ignore it. In Matthew 5, Jesus unpacks how conflict begins. It doesn’t jump straight to murder. The battle brews within us: anger hidden in our hearts, the dismissive insult, then the word that cuts through: ‘You fool.’ Long before anyone raises a fist, walls go up one thought at a time.
After the damage is done, who must go first? Not the person who was hurt, but the one who caused the offence. And yet I wrestled with this: if the offender never goes, the burden falls on the one wounded. But here I was in a third position. I chose to comfort the offended first, then speak to the offender. Peacemaking is picking up broken pieces and making a mosaic.
At the recent council meeting of the Lutheran World Federation, a global communion of churches from over 99 countries, we began morning prayer by facing one another and saying: ‘Forgive me, a sinner.’ The reply came, sometimes with a sign of the cross: ‘God forgives.’ Then together, each in our own language, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer, the words ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’ rising in many tongues at once. Different languages, drawn together by the same Spirit who fell on the disciples gathered in prayer at Pentecost.
Many are hungry for reconciliation. In Malaysia, Malay–Muslim friends greet one another at their festivals with ‘Maaf, Zahir Batin’, which means ‘Forgive me, inside and out’. As Christians, we share that hunger but stand on this ground: we forgive because God has first forgiven us.
So who is going first? Perhaps you’re the one who must initiate. Perhaps you’re called to name how you’ve been hurt, or you find yourself in between. In the end, the offender did reach out. There was an apology. Forgiveness. Some healing. I don’t know if there was full reconciliation. But at least there was movement in the right direction.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Not because it’s easy. But because when we go first, what was ugly can turn into something new and even something beautiful.
Is there someone with whom you need to seek peace? What step might God be calling you to take toward reconciliation?
Pray for God to give the Lutheran World Federation leaders and members the courage to address conflicts honestly, the grace to seek reconciliation and the wisdom to be peacemakers in a divided world. Pray that, across languages, cultures and nations, the global Lutheran communion will bear witness to the reconciling love of Christ and reflect the unity created by the Holy Spirit.
Rev Dr Sivin Kit is the director for Theology, Mission and Justice for The Lutheran World Federation.
Toward one another
The devotions for this week are featured in LCA International Mission’s 2026 ‘Pentecost Devotional and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners from around the world. LCA International Mission invites you to pray during Pentecost for the connections and ministries of our international partners. An electronic copy of the full devotional is available to download at the LCA International Mission website.
by Lydia Jarupong
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone (Matthew 18:15a).
Read Matthew 18:15–20
As someone who works with people from diverse nationalities, languages and cultures, I’ve learnt that unity isn’t always easy. Differences can easily lead to misunderstandings. Even good intentions can be interpreted differently, and if left unaddressed, small issues can gradually grow into distance.
At times, I feel tired: too tired to explain, too tired to speak, and unwilling to enter another difficult conversation. At times, I also recognise that I may be the one who causes others to stumble, whether through my personality or the way I communicate. Because of this, I sometimes choose to avoid facing problems directly, afraid of damaging relationships or making things worse.
Yet silence doesn’t bring healing. In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus teaches us to go to one another not to accuse, but to restore. Through his death and resurrection, Christ has already reconciled us to God. We’re called to seek reconciliation with one another. This requires honesty, humility and the courage to speak the truth in love, even when it feels uncomfortable.
When I begin to see those around me as family, my perspective changes. In a family, a father desires his children to talk to one another. Siblings may argue, but they don’t remain separated forever. They find their way back to each other. In the same way, we’re called to live as one family in Christ.
Often, our conflicts come from the same desire: that the work may move forward and that what we do may honour God. When we remember this, it becomes easier to return to one another, listen and seek understanding. Our differences of culture, language and personality are no longer barriers, but expressions of the beauty God has created in each of us.
Jesus also reminds us that he is present among us when we gather in his name. This means that he is with us not only in unity, but also in the process of restoring it.
Because Christ is already at work among us, unity is lived out through honesty and restoration. It calls us not to run away, but to move toward one another with grace. Even now, I’m still learning not to run away, but to stay, trusting God in the process and believing he can bring healing, restore relationships and draw us together as one family for his purpose.
Are you avoiding a conversation that could bring healing? How might Christ help you approach it with truth and love?
Pray for the Strong and Safe Family Project in Thailand, that the Holy Spirit will guide its work in strengthening relationships and restoring families and give the staff wisdom, patience and courage to walk alongside others with grace.
Lydia Jarupong is a staff member of the Strong and Safe Family Project of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand.
Created for relationship
The devotions for this week are featured in LCA International Mission’s 2026 ‘Pentecost Devotional and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners from around the world. LCA International Mission invites you to pray during Pentecost for the connections and ministries of our international partners. An electronic copy of the full devotional is available to download at the LCA International Mission website.
by Dr Stefan Gradl
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
So God created humans in his image (Genesis 1:27a).
Read Genesis 1:26,27
Let’s start early. Not on day six, when God creates human beings, nor on day three, when the plants are created. Not even on day one, when God starts creating. Let’s start before day one, when there’s no creation, only God.
Already, then, there are relations. God isn’t only relating to creation; there is relationship within God. Our God is triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, and yet distinct. So, even before creation, God isn’t one isolated person. There’s an eternal ‘We’, not just an ‘I’. The very nature of our God is relational.
Because God is relational, we’re relational. God says, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.’ This is the starting point of God’s relationship with us. Before we measure ourselves by achievement, ability or social standing, we must receive the truth God declares: we belong to him. Our worth isn’t earned; it’s bestowed.
As God is relational, being created in his image means we’re made for relationship with God and other people. Though sin has broken this relationship and distorted God’s image in us, in Christ we’re restored and drawn back into right relationship with God and one another.
When we look at human beings, we see differences. No two people are alike. Genesis 1:27 says, ‘So God created them in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’ Gender differences aren’t to cause division, but rather to reveal the fullness of God’s image through diverse perspectives and shared life. We may add other differences as well: culture, traditions, language, education and personality. We humans are all different, and that is precisely why we can complement one another.
We find unity in this diversity by being made in God’s image. When our identity is rooted in God’s image, we stop treating other people as competitors or threats. We begin to see them as fellow image-bearers made for connection, dignity and purpose. Being created in God’s image isn’t to separate us from others, but to draw us toward each other until our lives become a sign that belonging is God’s gift and unity is his work.
What does it mean for you to see others as people created in God’s image? How might this shape the way you relate to those who are different from you?
Pray that the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong will continue to form leaders who are grounded in God’s word and equipped to serve Christ’s church in diverse contexts.
Dr Stefan Gradl is the associate professor of missiology and Christian education at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.