"The Harvest Is Ready"

Growing up on the farm, one of the joyous occasions was when the crops come in.  Now I don’t mean the crops from the field, but the crops in the garden.  Now many of you are saying, “Oh, vegetable garden.”  Well, yes and no.  Our gardens on the farm could be upwards to an acre or more.  So if you had 12 rows of pole beans 100 yards long (that is just one of the vegetables), that’s a crop in my opinion.  So, as these vegetables came in (ready to harvest) you would use some as fresh produce for the table.  You would put some up in the freezer or can them for winter use.  But my favorite thing to do was to carry some to the neighbors who didn’t have gardens.  Dad or mom would load a bushel of corn or beans in the back of the car and head over to a neighbor’s house and knock on the door and say something to the affect, “God has blessed us with an abundance again this year and we wanted to share some with you.”  Often these were folks that could really use this produce over the winter months.  The smiles were as one of the commercials state, “Priceless.”  I’ve never forgot those times.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving 2016!  The "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest (their crops came in) in the New World in 1621.  The feast lasted three days.  Edward Winslow, an attendee, recorded that there were 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims in attendance.  The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “thanksgivings" days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought.

Fast forward from 1621 and the fourth Thursday in November in the United States which has been set aside as the public holiday known as Thanksgiving Day.  It originated as a harvest festival. Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, after a proclamation by George Washington. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens," to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.  Old Abe, I believe, had it right.  Thanks and Praise to our Heavenly Father is the right course of action for His abundance of grace, mercy, and blessings.

A song that runs through my mind during the Thanksgiving week is one written by Henry Smith titled: “Give Thanks.”  The words are very simple, but so true.

“Give thanks with a grateful heart, 

Give thanks to the Holy One; 

Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.” 

(That repeats)   

“And now let the weak say, I am strong, 

Let the poor say, I am rich 

Because of what the Lord has done for us.”

(That repeats)

“Give Thanks, Give Thanks, Give Thanks”

There is something about giving that warms the heart.  I’ve seen giving break down barriers between enemies, between disagreements, between couples, and bring ones far apart back together again.  In most cases (not all) giving just a simple hug to someone bridges a gap between us that often goes without explanation.  

Oh, wait a minute.  There is an explanation after all!  This is exactly what God calls us to do.  As He has given His Son out of love for us, so too, we are to do likewise and out of love give to one another.

What would the world look like if everyone would do this?  Yes, that is the correct answer!  Heaven!  And one day we will get there, but until then, it is going to take one person at a time giving of oneself to some else that will make the difference.  If God has blessed you in the harvest, how about sharing out of thanksgiving to, as Abe said, “our beneficent Father.”  There are so many ways to give, for the harvest is white and ready!

Folks, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)  How about this Thanksgiving season us all look for ways to “give” since the harvest is ready!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.  May the Lord’s blessings fall greatly on each of you for His glory!

Pastor Marty

Worship, Grow, & Serve