“As a city boy, born and raised in Bristol, harvest for me had little meaning beyond an absolutely huge loaf at the front of the church and singing “We plough the fields and scatter” once a year. It took me quite a long time to realise that harvest is so much more than giving thanks for the crops being cut before the Autumn rains can spoil it. Even today, I have to challenge myself to push the boundaries of what I naturally associate as harvest, to include all food production on land and sea and all who work to produce that food as well.
These days we celebrate much more than the safe gathering of crops in our local community. The probability is that the next plate of food you eat, produce will have come from around the world. Harvest today is an international celebration of all that God has provided (with a little help from man!).
Therefore, It is important that at least once a year we stop, reflect and give thanks to God for all that the many harvests of the world give to us. In that stopping and giving thanks, we also need to be grateful for those who grew and produced the harvest for us in the first place, and to work out if we have exploited them in any way. Did I pay a fair price for what I ate? Did the farmer get well paid for his or her efforts?
We have a calling to sow God’s word. And, as the seed of God’s word is sown, the Holy Spirit will lead people into a saving experience as they respond in faith. Therefore, “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 6:7)
This harvest lets all be sowers of God’s word and let’s see His church in Hereford built up for His glory.