Do you think I could be a farmer? I could buy a farm, and a tractor. I’m not sure about animals, but I could plough (with my tractor), sow (with my tractor), let things grow and then harvest. Jesus warned about building bigger barns, and that’s OK – I’d be happy to share the harvest with you.
Of course, I’m assuming everything is as it should be: no mechanical break downs, enough sunshine, enough (but not too much) rain (or wind), no diseases or infestations, plants that grow well and yield 30, 60 or 100 times what was sown.
I know a few farmers, and I know it’s not as easy as it sounds – they work hard, deal with things unexpected as well as things expected but unwelcome. And the result is food for the coming year for us all.
Harvest is an important festival in the church’s calendar because it brings the focus onto God as our sustainer – the one who makes things grow, the one who sends the rain and the sun.
Harvest is vital for our daily lives. And the Bible also uses Harvest as a picture of what a fruitful life should be. The people harvest their food, and their God looks for a harvest – “the harvest of righteousness” 2 Cor 9:10.
Raymond