This year we had the pleasure of again collecting food for Hammersmith and Fulham Food Bank. Members of the church brought food and we thanked God for our provision.
If you were asked what your favourite Bible verse about Harvest was, what would you say?
Would you rank Genesis 8:22 as your favourite? "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease”
Or maybe you prefer the wisdom of the Proverbs 10:5: "He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."
For others it may be a New Testament verse such as Matthew 9:37-38: "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"
These are just a few of the many references to Harvest found in the Bible. We can see from the verses above that Harvest, in the Bible, has at least two meanings. The first one is more obvious, ploughing the fields and scattering, in the words of the famous hymn! God providing what we need to nourish our bodies.
Is there another meaning for Harvest, however? The verse in Matthew suggests there is, a harvest relating to our soul, that we scatter the seeds of the Good News about Jesus Christ and then God harvests in those who believe in him.
This harvest month, we challenge you that while being thankful for our daily provisions, to think beyond this daily provision of food and instead consider the harvest relating to your soul, are you scattering seed for Christ? Will you be a worker for Him?
Let these verse from John and Galatians inspire us:
John 4:35 (NIV): "Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."
Galatians 6:9 (NIV): "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."