A Season of Harvest
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Matthew 9:37
Ben paused to listen as the October winds rustled the corn
stalks, thinking, I love this time of
year!
His tooth-revealing smile, hidden behind a camouflage mask,
testified to the depth of fulfillment he was experiencing. The explorer inside
was being unleashed! The explosion of
color! Clear, crisp air, and such fiery sunsets! It’s hard to imagine anything
more beautiful than this river valley!
Ben always felt closer to God when he ventured into the
woods. For here he could see God’s handiwork. He could almost hear God
pronounce, “You were meant to have
dominion over this. Take good care of it; this is practice for your future
home.” He was moved by the variety of wildlife and brilliant foliage.
Ben had been a bowhunter for over thirty years. In the
sphere of those three decades he’d spent thousands of hours in the woods; here
he was aware of a godly connection he rarely sensed anywhere else.
Ben considered himself a good steward of nature. He hunted
because he enjoyed it; yet he also knew that maintaining the animal population
was necessary because of the limited carrying capacity of the surrounding
countryside. But even more treasured than being entrusted with this
responsibility was the sense of God’s looming presence as he sat silently,
watching this wonder-filled world within a world as it unfolded before him.
†
Consider this parallel to the seasons of our lives: winter...God
cleanses us through understanding; spring…He brings renewal; summer…God propagates
and grows the planted seed; fall...our mature fruit is revealed for the purpose
of sharing!
There is significance in each. But fall is when the sickle is
put to the crop.
As we look about, we see those who have not yet named the
Name of Jesus. They may be in the fall of their lives, not because of age, but
because their time to decide is running out.
God says to each of us, “Take
time out of your schedule to experience the Spirit of this season. Then go to
the harvest fields!”
Prayer
“Cleanse my life,
Lord, renew a right spirit in me, propagate the seeds You have planted, and
mature the fruit in my life that I might be prepared for the harvest. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.”
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