Harvest & Unity

Harvest: a seven-letter word I grew up understanding. Harvest meant work, long nights, longer days, breakdowns, the smell of corn drying in the pit dryer, big trucks, and playing in the grain wagons while the combine dumped corn on us. I also knew harvest was much more than three months in the fall. Harvest began the first of the year when we start planning next year’s crop.

Currently, this is our crunch time as farmers. It’s the time to bring in the crops. Harvesting was done much differently than the harvesting we experience in our farming culture today. God speaks of Harvest first in Genesis 8:23, saying, “Seedtime and harvest will never cease.” Harvest is mentioned using the harvest as providing for the needs of mankind physically. In the Bible, harvest refers to bringing in a planted crop. ” Feast of First fruits required the Israelites to bring “a sheaf of the first grain” they harvested each year to the priest (Leviticus 23:10). The Israelites were not allowed to eat any of the crop until the day the first portion was brought before the priest. The first fruits belonged to God, and the people of Israel acknowledged God as the source of their crops and their provision overall (Leviticus 23:14).” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Feast-of-Firstfruits.html)

Jesus uses the harvest in parables, referencing the hearts of people and the kingdom harvest. Jesus references farming, crops, and harvesting because the people understood those analogies. His words made sense as to how they lived.

I want to share what it takes to bring in a harvest in our world and then tie it into being the church and how harvesting fits our faith walk’s mindset. I took supper out to my husband tonight. As I waited for the combine to make its way to my side of the field, along the combine came the buggy driver, Richard. A grain buggy is a large container on wheels, pulled by a tractor that hauls the corn from the combine to the semi. Grain buggies enable the combine to keep working and not stop to unload. Richard sits waiting with the tractor and buggy in the field. He watches the combine, and when the red light begins to blink, that tells him the hopper is full. He carefully drives beside the combine and matches the tractor’s speed to the combine. This enables them to unload on the move and not waste time stopping. The two men work together as the buggy must fill evenly. Richard then will drive the buggy over to the semi, unload corn from the buggy, being aware of how much weight to put in the semi-trailer to distribute the weight on the axles for the safety of the truck and meet the requirements of the road weight limitations or requirements. The semi driver then either drives to the local elevator to unload, or to the farm to unload into the corn dryer and bins.

Other than being interesting, what does that have to do with being a Christian? Throughout the Bible, God wanted his people to be unified. From walking around the walls of Jericho to leaving grain along the edges of the field for the poor, God creates us to work with each other. Harvest is a culmination of working together. From the prepping of the ground to the planting of the seed, the role of agronomists is to know what the soil needs and the farmer’s patience to let the growing season mature the crop. But for the farmer, it’s not just sitting and watching corn and beans grow but preparing for harvest. Machinery readied, the last year’s crop sold and delivered, so there is room for the new crop, grain legs, bins, and augers to ensure all are in working condition. It’s a year-long process, using many other people’s abilities, wisdom, and involvement. “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 reminds us that it’s unity but more than unity. It’s working together with God’s gifts within each of us. Cor. 12:12: “For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ.” It’s not about who harvests spiritually as much as we all work together, so there is a harvest. To reap a harvest, we are at the mercy of those who will work with us, often those who will never see the result, but all our efforts bring corn and beans into the farm and hearts and souls into the kingdom. Ephesians 4 reminds us, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers, to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

As teamwork is imperative to harvest, unity is crucial for the church community. If the combine driver thinks more of himself than he ought, he won’t have a buggy driver to dump the crop in. If the buggy driver thinks he is a more significant part of the cog, he will have nowhere to dump his buggy fill if there is no semi-driver. If the semi-driver thinks he is the most important, he won’t have anything in his trailer if the buggy driver doesn’t come over to fill his hopper with corn. It’s all about unity. Who is more important? Unity is more important. Let’s take that to live out our faith as a believer and plant the seeds of Jesus in the hearts of others in a quest to harvest souls for the kingdom. I have spent time with people, planted, invested, hoed, and never saw a crop. Then I heard of someone who rubbed shoulders with them for a slight period, and God used them to open the door, but I could not open it. How do I react? Perhaps more importantly, how should I respond? With gratitude. Unity in the family of God is being where you are, living a life God asks you to, sharing, giving, and doing while allowing God to use others in your field to help you bring souls to the kingdom. Be who God called you to be. Do your best if that’s a semi-driver, buggy driver, or combine operator. Let God unite those around you as you all work on Team Jesus.

Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Harvest and Unity: keeping our eyes on the lives of others to see where we can walk alongside them and be a part of the Harvest of hearts for the kingdom.