The harvest of leaves has begun. A wonderfully melancholy fragrance rises with the dust from the raked leaves. One can almost hear Andy Williams singing about red and gold leaves drifting by his window. Sweetness drifts in the autumn air as afternoon shadows grow long across the garden chrysanthemums. Decorative cabbage lines walkways and pumpkins are arranged in threes on porches. Sweet corn melts in our mouths. Apple tree branches are propped up to keep them from snapping under the weight of their bounty. Harvests are important. They are the fruit of a year’s labor. They fill our cupboards, bins and root cellars with the reward of faithful work.
Matthew 27 mentions an amazing harvest. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Jesus will not have to wait for a harvest. It will be there for Him when He rises on Sunday morning. Revelation 7 speaks of a group of the redeemed that surround the throne. Many scholars believe they are the first fruit of Jesus’ gift to us. In I Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 we read of the great harvest of all the redeemed. It is the harvest of our parents, grandparents and our children that passed too soon. It is our harvest.
We harvest the crop of leaves from our yards. We harvest the crops from our farms. They are wonderful. But there is no harvest greater than the harvested crop of the redeemed that will live with our Jesus forever and ever.
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 4, 2013
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org