The Cycle of the Harvest

DateLine (5/24/07 – Nanuet, NY)

I like to grow things, especially vegetables. As far as I’m concerned one of the simple pleasures in life is to walk down to the garden, pluck something from the vine or ground, wash it off in the sink, and consume it. That’s the way God designed it in the “Garden of Eden.” The pinnacle of garden eatin’ is the homegrown tomato. A country gourmet delight is a slice of vine ripe tomato on wheat bread dressed with a little Duke’s mayonnaise.

The entire cycle is an annual reminder of the goodness of the heavenly father. It is not limited to dietary benefit, it is therapeutic for me. The warm days of spring beckon me to turn over the moist earth, press the seeds into neat rows, pray for rain, and dare the weeds to show up. The garden is a retreat that temporarily removes me from the complexities of modern life. A weekend without dirt under my fingernails is incomplete. While I do enjoy the plowing, planting, watering, and weeding; the greatest reward is the harvest. At the moment of harvest the hard work that goes before fades into a dim memory as the purpose is fulfilled.

I want to focus a few moments on the harvest. Let’s use my favorite the tomato as an example. With just a little experience it is very easy to determine when the tomato is ripe on the vine. The first hint of a color transition from green to red is an indication that it’s almost time. A gentle squeeze to determine firmness is the final test. At the point of harvest the tomato is slightly soft to the touch. A vine ripe tomato will literally drop off of the vine into your hand with the slightest tug.

The cycle of harvest is used in the Bible to describe the process by which people are reconciled to the Creator. The temptation is to gloss over the initial steps of the cycle to focus on the harvest but it is a multi-step cycle. Without the tilling there is no harvest. Without the planting there is no harvest. Without the watering there is no harvest. Without the weeding there is no harvest. While the harvest is exciting, there is no indication in the Scripture that the other steps of the cycle are any less important. As a matter of fact there is no requirement that all of the tasks be performed by the same person. One could till, another plant, another water, and another weed; all important contributors to the harvest. What could be more natural?

Are you involved in cycle of harvest; I mean the one that yields eternal life. “When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.” Matt. 21:34 “As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:29 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9.

It’s time for all of us to go to the garden. I’ll plough, you can plant, someone else waters, another weeds. Occasionally you’ll get the opportunity to gently tug as the vine ripe “fruit” falls into your hands; another child entering eternity with the Father. I do not know of a higher purpose in life.

“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." Matt. 9:37-38.

Outsourcing "The Church"

DateLine (5/17/07 – Nanuet, NY)

Drop off the laundry as you rush to work. Pick up take-out as you dash home stopping only to pick up your preschooler from day care. Pick up the pet from the grooming service. Remember to tape the garbage service payment to the trash can lid as you push them to the curb for the weekly pickup. Schedule car service at the dealer. Remember to leave a key hidden under the pot on the back porch for the cleaning service. Call the lawn service that does the neighbor’s yard to see if they’ll do your lawn. We live in a service economy. Outsourcing is the name of the game. After all, we’ve got to shed as much responsibility as possible from our busy lives in order to have some down time to ourselves. We live in a service economy.

It’s Sunday morning and the kids pile into one or two cars to rush to church. Mom and Dad drop the little ones off in the Children’s Ministry area on their way to Adult Bible study. As they exit the Children’s area Mom stops to look at the coming weeks schedule for the kids: Mission Groups on Wednesday and VBS Festival in the park on Saturday. Anything wrong with this picture? I have a strong suspicion that Christian families did just find before the modern era of fully packed church calendars. As a matter of fact the anecdotal evidence is that for all of our efforts in the church we are having minimal impact on the culture.

Statistics tell us that the difference between church members and the culture is insignificant in those areas that we as Christians define as being key indicators of a Christian lifestyle. Why does it seem that church is ineffective in affecting the culture or even its own members? This is not an indictment of the institutional church. There has been a shift in behaviors but the responsibility cannot be placed with the church. The responsibility lies in the home. A significant danger to the American family is that our penchant for outsourcing has translated to the accountability of spiritual formation, especially of the children. The real question is; is there any church going on at home? The proper relationship between the institution church and families is one of partnership. A weakness in either side of the partnership compromises the mission.

Now I’m fully aware that the majority of the readership of this material has yet to have the opportunity to assume the role in the family that I’m describing but chances are your have observed the same dynamics that I’m observing. I’m amazed as I look back to the time when I was your age at how fast the full responsibilities of adulthood crashed into my life. Within three years of my graduation from high school I was married. Within seven years I had two children. Your opportunity to assume the role as high priest of the cathedral of the home will be in your lap before you can say “what do I do now.” It is not too early to begin to form a strategy for how you will handle your parental responsibility.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Prov. 2:6

Pray that you will not outsource one of the most important roles that you will ever have the privilege of assuming.

What a Difference?

DateLine (5/8/07 – Nanuet, NY)

I’m not sure if the thought was triggered by something said on the Christian radio that I was listening to or simply a serendipitous event of my morning commute. For some reason the question came to mind, “what difference has God made in my life.” This coming July I will have been a Christian for 36 years. I received the unmerited gift of eternal life when I was 16 years old in July of 1971. At the time of my conversion I was dangerously near the age where the probability of such an event was in freefall. But here I am almost four decades later a convert. What difference has it made? The gravity of the thought momentarily stunned me.

My first inclination was to consider what I had offered to God in response to His gift to me. This is an important question because God tells us via scripture is that His children (which is what we become at conversion) do have accountability to Him for our thinking and our actions. Unfortunately as I contemplated my response a sense of grief overwhelmed me as I realized that although I could see a clear difference in my life’s direction pre and post conversion it seemed so miniscule in comparison to God’s provision to me as His child. What do I mean by that? My conversion has not been about what I’m doing for God, although I do pray that God has found me of use to Him.

My grief seemed fleeting as my focus shifted to what God has done for me. Now the gift of eternal life with Him is a given here, it’s the more pragmatic impact of God in my life that awed me as I reflected.

As a child of God I have received:

• Peace of mind – I do not have a worry about my long term future – I will survive eternally with Him in what He has described as a perfect existence.
• Strength – I have a constant friend to lean on – if I have learned one thing in life it’s that life is hard – I can’t imagine having to endure the normal twists of life without His help.
• Perspective – God is the “measuring stick” by which I can evaluate and separate the trivial from the priorities
• Direction for life - God is like a lighthouse piercing the fog to guide the ship past the hidden dangers of a jagged shore.
• Sense of Purpose / Empowerment – a primal need for humans is to derive purpose from their existence – my relationship with God joins me with something bigger than me giving me eternal significance.
• Enriched relationships – God’s relationship with me teaches me how to relate to others – this is not limited to family relationships, it extends to the camaraderie of co-laborers in the church.
• Contentment – deep within me is a peaceful core, the very presence of God.
• Protection – nothing can touch me without passing the Sentry of my soul, God Himself.

I cannot imagine what the last 36 years would have been like without God. What a difference. Although insufficient, all I have to offer is a heartfelt thank you. Why would anyone want to go through life without Him? We’ve got to share the news. God is good.

Bring It Back

DateLine (5/2/07 – Nanuet, NY)

I believe that many of us have the concept backwards when it comes to church. Our consumer driven society has spilled over into the church life. It’s my opinion based on my years of church involvement that the average participant comes looking to pick something up. Many see worship services as another drive-through joint much like our instant gratification fast food culture. Numerous churches have fallen into the trap of trying to ramp up to meet the expectations of delivering high quality “worship experiences.” The more we travel down this slippery slope the more energy is drained away from the real reason for churches to exist.

I’m going to offer what might be a unique thought given the current reality. The point of worship services is not what you get there; it’s what you bring there. Church is not what takes place for an hour or two on Sunday. Church is what takes place the rest of the week. If the worship service is not fun it’s because we didn’t see God at work outside the church building and we got nothing to bring back with us. You see, church is foremost a celebration of God and what He’s doing.

Worship services do not occur in a cathedral of consumerism, worship is a celebration of service. If church were a football game, then the worship service doesn’t take place in the stadium, it would take place in the press room after the game when the highlights were being recapped and the glory of the competition was being relived. Now here’s a thought to ponder; if it ain’t happening for us at church it’s not because the preacher is not doing his job, or the musicians didn’t quite make it happen, or the Sunday School teacher was uninspiring. If it ain’t happening at church it means you didn’t bring anything with you; you don’t have anything to celebrate.

I want to challenge you this week to look for God where you go. If you see Him up to something run toward it as fast as you can. When you get to where He is, jump in with both feet. And one more thing; would you please bring it back with you to the meeting house. I want to celebrate with you.

The apostle Paul instructed the church in Corinth; “. . . When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” (I Cor. 14:26)

You want to do your part in to strengthen the church? You gotta bring it back!