Ready for the Harvest?

Mark 4:26-29 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
 
GOD often used a crop’s harvest as an image of his redemptive plan. When he brought Israel from Egypt he commanded, “Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. (Exodus 23:16) The feast would celebrate God’s provision of food and remind Israel of God gathering them from bondage.
    The Bible also concludes with God’s harvest: Revelation 14:15 “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” God’s providence set the time for the Exodus harvest. And he has set the time for the final harvest.
    Jesus’ parable describes God’s harvest as a partnership with mankind. One sows the seed. He is God’s chosen messenger to tell the gospel. The gospel will grow in saving power and authority because the Lord has directed it to do so. The seed sower can control how much seed he sows. But he cannot control the growth. He can help nurture the plant with water and nutrition. But the plant’s growth is in God’s design.  
    This has been God’s pattern throughout history. The LORD God has chosen such people as the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles and the church to sow the seeds of his Word. The Spirit has planted the gospel’s redemptive seed into many hearts. He has empowered the chosen to sow and the faith seeds to grow. God has directed the sowing. God has empowered the growing.
     What happens when the plant has a full kernel? Many kernels become food for people and animals. Some kernels become new seed for new plants and ultimately a new harvest.
    This is the Christian life, isn’t it? When the Spirit awakens you to the gospel message, you become a new seed in God’s kingdom. He plants you into the good soil of his Word. The Spirit grows you in faith to become a kingdom kernel. You sow seed to plant new truth into new soil. You tell your friends. You tell your children. The Kingdom of God grows through you.
    Then what? God has chosen the harvest time. One day God will harvest your life from earth into eternal life. But unlike the annual grain crops, you don’t know when that will be.
    What do you say? Is Jesus’ truth planted, growing and maturing in you? Are you ready for the harvest? Are you partnering with God to help others be ready? 
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