Proverbs 27:25 Harvest the Continuous Crop
“After the hay is cut and the new growth appears and the harvest is over” (CEV).
It’s a long time since this hay rake has been used, but the process is still important. Hay that has been cut and is lying flat on the ground is hard for the hay baler to pick up, so the rake lifts it into rows that are easier for the baler to collect. Hay that is left flat on the ground is susceptible to rot if it is not fluffed up. This hay rake was drawn by two horses, and the operator sat on a seat on the rake with the reins in his hands. The mechanism may be old, but I am sure if it were oiled, it could still do the job. Today’s machinery, the tractor, pulls a similar piece of equipment to accomplish the same task, but fuels used are different. It makes me wonder about a comparison of the cost of feed for the horses, and the feed, excuse me, gasoline for the tractor. And the horses are quieter. There are some things to be said for the old methods—just ask some of the most successful farmers in America, the Amish.
Hay is a continuous crop. Once it is cut, it grows again, and it can be cut again. The harvest we are to work for as Christians is also a continuous crop. What is our harvest? Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19,20 and again in Mark 16:15,16 that the harvest is the souls of men for salvation. Every year, millions of new souls are born on the earth, and as they mature, they become ripe for salvation’s harvest. And there are millions already here who have never heard the Good News of salvation. There are similarities between the harvest of hay and the harvest of souls. A new soul, once he (she) has heard the Gospel, needs to be “fluffed up,” that is, taught so he can live as Christ would have him live, and so that he can be joined with others who have received the Good News of salvation. Those in the Church who walk beside and teach new believers are important to the harvest, just as the hay rake is important to the harvest of hay. There are many functions in fulfillment of the Great Commission, and you and I will probably perform one or more of those functions as we grow in Christ. Be encouraged, for we are doing what Jesus asked of us.