At mealtime Boaz called to her, "Come over here, and
help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine." So
she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She
ate all she wanted and still had some left over. When Ruth went back to work
again, Boaz ordered his young men, "Let her gather grain right among the
sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some heads of barley from the
bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don't give
her a hard time!" So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat
out the grain that evening, it filled an entire basket. Ruth 2:14-17
Farmers
typically work in the summer time, especially at harvest time, from sunrise to
sunset. My Dad would put in long hours when he was farming. Farmers these days
even have bright spotlights on their combines that allow crews to work into the
night harvesting their precious crops at their peak. The combines separate the
head of grain from the stock, the kernel from the chaff, and then all the grain
flows from the hopper to the waiting grain truck as the combine goes across the
field. So fast and clean. Ruth harvested by hand an ephah of barley, which is
about two-thirds of a bushel. Average yield of barley in 2000 was about 70
bushels per acre in Washington State where I live.
 |
| Israeli Combine |
Jesus
called His followers to “harvest” for Him in Luke 10:1-12 and as His followers,
He calls us to do the same. You may ask, as I have for years, where is this
harvest field? The interim pastor at my church once answered just that
question—the unchurched in apartments, condos, gyms, and coffee shops are that
field ready for harvest. Well—that is where the seeds of the gospel need to be
planted—then comes the harvest. Do you know anyone around you who has never
heard about Jesus? What can you tell them? Tell them about how Jesus has made a
difference in your life—how He has changed you. For me the biggest change was
in taking away my sarcastic tongue and attitude. It made such a difference in
my personality and gave me a peace about myself. Having a relationship with
Jesus improved my relationships with pretty much everyone around me, maybe not
immediately, but it did happen. I’d consider that a miracle.
Do you
need a miracle relationship adjustment in your life? Well, Jesus didn’t promise
to immediately make our lives perfect—but He has promised that He will never
leave us or forsake us and His presence as the Holy Spirit in our lives will
change our hearts and thoughts. He saved
us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but
according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy
Spirit, from Titus 3:5. This is similar to the need for continual renewal
of our minds from Romans 12:2. And do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so
that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect. As our minds are “renewed” and we begin to think more like
Christ, then we become more loving and our relationships gain the benefit of
that agape, Christ-like unconditional love.
That renewal is a spiritual feast
that you don’t have to work until sunset to obtain—just ask.
Prayer ~Lord, please give us hope
in our relationship with You and with others that we these bonds would be
stronger and that others would feel Your love for them through us. Renew our
minds and hearts, filling us with Your love.
From June 16,
2012 Banquet With The King blog.
Daily
Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 1-2
©
2017 Text and photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment