The Potential of the Harvest

At a recent Wednesday morning men’s study in Kent we read through another section of the book “Disciple” by Bill Clem. In it we read of the consequence of the curse of mans’ fall due to sin in Genesis 3:17-19, “Man was told that it will take pain and sweat equity to get earth to yield its harvest, and there will be thorns and thistles. There is no way for us to know how a pre-cursed garden looked or functioned, but it was surely a paradise. It is hard to imagine what fruits or vegetables would taste like in an un-cursed state.”

As a community reliant on farming for livelihood, you know the work that it takes to produce a harvest. Each year the hard work is done of preparing the ground, removing the rocks, seeding and spraying for those things that will hinder the wheat, feeding and caring for that wheat as it grows hoping for adequate water, proper temperatures, and freedom from things that threaten its outcome such as fires, infestations and equipment failures. Even with all of this, there is still no certainty that the crop once harvested will be well received in the market.

Just what is your real potential though? I’ve been told that if we were to get a June “Million Dollar Rain” that the wheat might even produce a couple of extra kernels per head implying that even what we see as good does not approach what might be perfect. Just what does perfection look like? This is a question we can’t answer because we live in a sin cursed world that the Creator of the world has also chosen to mercifully and graciously intervene in such that even in the trials, we might live with hope.

Next Friday we’ll wrap up this particular thought, so stay tuned. Be thankful for the rain, enjoy the green, pray for the sun, and look for the hope.

Originally posted in Sherman County eNews Spiritual Matters on April 12, 2019