Here our country’s part of the northern hemisphere, this year’s harvest is almost over.
Only the sugar beet remains to be lifted and processed and then the main farming activity will be ploughing, ready for seed-sowing again.
The time of autumn would seem to provide its own emphasis on the preaching of the Gospel - the fact that the time for proclaiming it will some day cease. Then God will reap the harvest of what has been sown.
The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was one of those people sent to warn God's people, the Jews, of the result of their failure to repent of their sins. Unless they repented, judgement must fall - sin must be punished. So Jeremiah laments:
“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20)
Jesus Christ uses the same picture of seedtime and harvest in the proclaiming of the Gospel. The good news of the kingdom - the Gospel - is proclaimed to all, in the way that seed is scattered over the land. The places where it falls produces a number of different responses. But the time for sowing will cease, and then God will reap the harvest.
Harvest time for us could be death - sometimes referred to as "the grim reaper". Or it could be when Christ himself will return and the Gospel age will cease. Whichever it is, the opportunity to respond will be over for ever.
The solemn lesson is this. The opportunity to respond to God's love in sending his Son to be our Saviour will not last for ever. “My Spirit will not contend with man for ever...”, the scripture tells us (Genesis 6:3).
The time to respond is now:
“Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
If you need further help in understanding how you respond to the Gospel and so be ready for the time of reaping, please contact Pastor Stuart Bailey - see Contact Us page
