HARVEST TIME
Living on a small farm in the Central Valley of California, we see a lot of harvests. Currently it is grape, silage corn, olive and squashes. It’s dusty, pungent, exciting, busy, and loud.
Not only have farmers been harvesting for months for the various different types of crops, they also have been preparing fields for next year, assessing/fixing equipment and moving said equipment around to different fields. Getting stuck behind a long line of a grape harvest machine and its gondolas on a two-lane highway usually means a kink in one’s schedule. Slow moving, slow going, and massive equipment.
In early February, the first buds to spot are almonds. After a long winter, they are a welcome sight. Then come a long line of blossoms, and first fruits – whether in a home garden or a farmer’s field. Hope is in the air.
Timing on the harvests depends upon the crop. Some have a quick turnaround like radishes, which are a fun one to plant when little children are the little farmers. While other crops take time. And, there are times, when many of the fruits and vegetables are ready at the same time and it’s a mad rush to get it all in.
It was this concept which came to mind – timing of the harvests. In the kingdom of God, we have the Fruit of the Spirit. Fruit has its different sowing/planting times as well as its own harvest times. It seems fitting for God to mirror what He did in Creation to what He is doing in our lives.
Many times as believers, we want immediate answers, immediate results and no waiting. Or we want all things at the same time. We want abundance, and we want it now. What about the radishes of life? Super easy peasy, and low maintenance, these gems provide almost immediate satisfaction for gracing our tables. They provide hope for a new year of crops.
Could it be true for what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives? I heard a sermon once explaining the fruit of the Spirit. Notice how it is not fruits, but rather a single fruit, because the fruit is love and the ensuing part of the two verses extrapolates out what this love looks like. In the Greek, punctuation is not the same as English, so commas, colons, and such are not as evident or self-explanatory.
When seen in this light – it makes sense. Love is multifaceted. It is layers upon layers of God’s Presence and character being built into our lives. All brought on by the Holy Spirit. We do not create this fruit. It is the Holy Spirit doing the work. No matter how hard we try, we cannot, on our own, conjure up enough love, joy, peace, etc. We falter and fail. And we cannot keep it up – it’s exhausting.
However, the Holy Spirit lovingly begins producing love in us (for those who know Jesus as Lord and Saviour of their lives), which manifests into goodness, faithfulness and more. And, like the physical harvests from a field, timing is everything.
When we grow impatient because fruit seems long in coming, or the crop seems sparse, hold on. Look to the Holy Spirit, who lavishly gives us fruit and in His time.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 (NIV)
All things. In Christ. For us. Including the fruit from the Spirit.
Father God, thank You for all the gifts, fruit and love You have lavished upon me. Every good gift is from You (James 1:17) and I open my heart and arms wide to receive them. I do wait in expectation of this abundance as well as wait patiently for Your timing. Your harvest is always good and always perfect. Thank You. AMEN
