For Matthew, faith is never stagnant. If there's faith, there's growth: good seed planted in a field, a tiny mustard seed growing into a mighty bush, yeast making the dough rise and turning wheat into wholesome bread.

It’s rare that a motion in D.C. gets bipartisan support. But instituting Parents’ Day on the fourth Sunday of July to “recognize, uplift, and support the role of parents in the rearing of children" did just that in 1994. No matter how we vote on Election Day, every day of the year parents deserve our thanks for doing the toughest and most vital job in America: preparing the future.

He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.

Urban farming has taken the country by storm, as Indiana Public Media reports. Across the nation, people are taking back the land one acre and one project at a time. A shuttered shopping mall in Cleveland with atrium lighting is being transformed into a giant indoor farm thanks to a project called “Gardens Under Glass.”

We turn to our God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness and faithfulness to us.

Those therefore who wish to . . . inherit the everlasting kingdom of God must not be weeds but wheat. They must avoid saying or doing anything useless, and practice the opposite virtues, thus bringing forth the fruits of repentance.