Harvest

Then [Jesus] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”
— Luke 13:6–9

As the cold air cuts into the morning, there are a few things that always come to mind: fall, football, the changing of the leaves, and harvest coming in. 

When I was growing up, we would often head down to my grandparents’ farm during harvest. I loved this time of the year: the great smells in the air, the opportunity to ride in the combine, the fascination of watching the corn stalks shake off their bounty, or seeing the thousands of kernels of corn or soybeans fall from the augers. For a city kid, it was all so new and wonderful to take in.

Harvesting is not all that easy, as many of you know from tending your own gardens. It takes a lot of dedication to care for the plants. It also takes more than a little luck, so that some disaster doesn’t come along and destroy your crop.

In our life, we tend to want to move quickly into the harvest season. We want the fruits of any labor right now! Sometimes we think that if something is not producing fruit immediately, then it must not be working. I find it encouraging when the gardener steps in, and coaxes us into to giving the tree a little more time. 

As we enter into this fall season of life, be assured that God is working in you and through you. Sometimes we can see it right away. Sometimes we don’t see it until years later. Don’t be discouraged in this waiting time: the fruit will be ready in its due season.

God’s Peace,
 
Pastor Tim