Leave it

When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don’t go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that God, your God, will bless you in all your work. When you shake the olives off your trees, don’t go back over the branches and strip them bare—what’s left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don’t take every last grape—leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. (Deuteronomy 24:19-21)

I wonder if we have given much thought to the various "harvests" we have in our lives. The great work of producing the end result of a tremendous "intake" of grain is almost missed by us because we simply go to the local grocer and purchase the bagged flour, loaf of bread, or cake mix right off the shelf. If there was a greater appreciation for the "work" which makes the harvest possible, I wonder if we'd have any greater appreciation for the "filled shelves" at the grocer? A harvest is the general work of seeing something to the point of maturity - then storing up the thing which has been brought to that point. It is a process producing a certain outcome - the benefits of which provide for the basis of what will be "stored up" for the future. There is an inability to "store up" if there first has not been a "supply of". So, the beginning point of the harvest is in the supplying of what will produce the harvest. In the simplest terms it means if there is no seed, there's no harvest. The type of seed always determines the harvest, right? So, in the most literal sense, we could turn this to the type of seeds we DON'T sow as providing the results we will reap. No unkind words - no strife in a relationship. No impulsive choices - no regrets or shame.

What "supply" we tap into most is what we will see as the resulting harvest we will "store up" for days to come. If the "supply chain" is directly from the hands of God, the stored product will be that which produces further fruitfulness in our lives. If the "supply chain" is something other than God's best, the harvest may not be as beneficial for our storehouses! The connection I want us to see this morning is in the supply of what will be planted and the harvest which will be available for storage during "leaner" times in our lives. Something coming to a place of maturity before it is harvested almost escapes us today as many farmers "reap" the crops long before they ripen - so they have a longer "shelf life". Here's the rub - they just don't taste the same! When ripening occurs exactly where the seed was planted, the "taste" produced is richer or more flavorful. Why? The product was meant to "mature" where it was planted! It was not meant to "mature" in a fruit bowl on your kitchen table, or in the brown bag on your shelf! It might allow the fruit to ripen, but it still doesn't taste the same as a vine ripened tomato, or the tree ripened avocado. The outward appearance may be the same, but it is in the experience of the "taste" where we really note the differences.

You can "force" ripening - but the result is a pitiful excuse for the intended taste! The same is true in our spiritual lives. We can remove ourselves from the place where we have been planted way too soon. Sure, we see evidence of fruit - something worth harvesting. If we are removed too soon from the place where we are planted - the harvest will only yield tasteless seed! The richness and robustness of the produced fruit is really only evidenced when the fruit is allowed to ripen right where it was planted. If you haven't noticed, the seed wasn't planted in the dark! It was planted in the light, watered regularly, and the soil around it was worked regularly to keep it weed free. Before the harvest comes a whole lot of purposeful planning and consistent work. In the season of harvest, we are tempted to "store up" when we see the beginning evidence of fruit - but waiting just a little longer often brings just the right amount of added "son-shine" we need to experience the richest of harvests. There is an intentional leaving of something behind. This may seem like a senseless waste - leaving some of the harvest behind. But...in what is left, there is even greater provision! You see, there are those who cannot produce the fruit without a seed - the seed you provide by the intentional leaving of something of the harvest available for the taking. I don't know about you, but some of the best "seeds" in my life have been left by those who have allowed the seed they were "supplied" to come to maturity in their lives - allowing me to glean a little of their harvest. In turn, those "seeds" supplied by their harvest have become the basis of growth for the similar harvest in my life.

I don't know the harvest you will bear today - or even if the harvest will be today. The season of harvest may be in seed-form in your lives right now. It could be just about to begin the "reaping" phase. Regardless of where you are in the process - you needed the first "seed" to be supplied. You and I are called upon to intentionally provide for those who have no way of producing the harvest in their own lives without the seed you have already seen come to the place of maturity in yours. We become instruments of God's "supply chain" in the process. If you are anxious to call it a "harvest" and be done with the entire maturing process, remember this - the harvest is best when the maturing is allowed to occur right where the seed was planted. Don't rush God's handiwork. You might get fruit, but the richness of it may not be as enjoyable as it would have been if you'd have stayed a little longer where you were planted. Just sayin!

Cart - Then Horse, or Horse, Then Cart?

How many of us would consider ourselves to be 'mature'? I am over the age of sixty now and 'mature' could mean I have an AARP card! For one to be considered mature, here are some things to consider: Are the fully developed in body and mind? Is the work of development complete and perfected in the individual? Are they readied and prepared for what lies ahead? If the answer is truthful - none of us fit into this category! In society today, we often think of maturity as reaching a certain age - the age of "legality". In other words - it is a measure of chronological years, not so much a measure of anything on the inside of the person. The problem with this way of thinking is that we often have a whole lot of "mature-looking" individuals walking this earth, but they really lack the evidence of maturity in the emotions, mind, or their spirit. Chronologically, they are "of age" - spiritually, emotionally, or intellectually, they are still immature.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Having lived in a home with some fruit trees in my backyard as a kid, I know it takes some time for the fruit to come to a place of being developed enough to actually eat it. As an orange "matures", it goes from a solid green color, to a light yellow, and then a full-bodied orange color. The chance you take in plucking it too early from the tree is the arresting of the maturing process. You might see it continue to change color a little, but the "full-bodied" taste of the orange is produced best while it still attached to the source of its maturing! In a spiritual sense, the place of maturing for a believer is not detached from the branch (Christ)! It is in finding a good connection with Christ and others who will actually aid your development that maturity is realized. Readiness is evident in maturity. If you have ever waited any length of time for a child to be "ready" to leave for a destination they may not actually "want" to go to, you will know exactly what I am speaking of here! The child "knows" the destination - but they aren't "ready" to get there. They dilly-dally with the silliest things - taking forever to find their shoes, comb their hair, and get their jacket from the last place they threw it aside. We learn to do even the things which don't really thrill us - because we have come to a place of age-maturity which "overrides" our desire to stay in bed all day! There is a readiness to arise in the morning, greet the new day and its challenges, and then come home to do it all over again. In the spiritual sense, readiness is a key indicator of our level of maturity. When God asks us to take a step with him, do we balk? Or are we "ready" to move into what he has for us?

How is it we get to this place of maturity, complete in every way? I don't know about you, but I haven't arrived yet, but I am on the journey! Maturity is more than a "time" in life or specific age - it is a consistent development process, never fully ended until it is ended. I have heard it said that the biggest room in your house should be the room for improvement. We sometimes think we have arrived at a point in life where there is no further need for "maturing" - almost like a wine maker might say a wine has reached its "perfection". Truth be told, none of us actually reaches the point of perfection while here on this earth - if we think we do, we are only fooling ourselves. The best we can ever do is stay in a place which allows us to mature - like the orange attached to the tree. If we begin to see the resources God has provided for our growth (maturity), we will begin to see the benefit of being rightly connected for however long it takes! Ever eat fruit that ripened too quickly - it lacks taste, may be a little bitter, and is often quite dry. In contrast, the fruit allowed to develop to its point of maturity "connected" to its source of development has not only a different appearance on the outside, but the inside is quite different, too. The pulp of a mature orange is full of juice - it has a robust taste, emanates a pleasant aroma, and is sweet to the one taking it in. The same is true of our growth spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Stay connected to the source of maturity and you will find you produce a "robust" taste, a pleasant aroma, and are not as bitter! The outside may be a little deceiving - just looking mature doesn't make one truly mature. Readiness is a result of preparation. Being complete is a result of being perfected. When we want to do well at something, we don't launch out and expect to do it well the first time. We have to prepare - to perfect our skill. Let's not get the cart before the horse - we have lots and lots of room for improvement in our lives before any of us can actually say we are "mature". Just sayin!