Word on the Web

15 Oct 2009: The Final Harvest

This week I was invited along with friends from other churches in the town to a traditional Harvest Festival Service followed by a Harvest Supper. It wasn’t traditional in the sense that the church was bursting with the produce of the land, although there were representative items, nor was it traditional in the sense of a huge meal with free flowing drink but we were offered what we needed. We did however thank God for his faithfulness and goodness and sing traditional harvest songs, one of which made me think deeply.

The hymn was ‘Come you thankful people come’, with these words in verse three.

"For the Lord our God shall come
and shall bring his harvest home
he himself on that great day,
worthless things shall take away,
give his angels charge at last
in the fire the weed to cast,
but the fruitful ears to store
in his care for evermore."
(Jubilate Hymns version)

The volume of the organ and the singing did not change as this verse was sung and it struck me that the awesome message of the verse was completely missed. Here we were singing lustily of men and women going to hell and the impact of that passed right over the majority and this caused me to think.

Do we really believe that at the last day there will be a separation of Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25) of Good seed and Weeds (Matthew 13)? Or have we quietly assumed a universalist position without realising it.

I have been very challenged by Richard Coekin’s new book ‘Our Father’ on the Lord’s Prayer and especially his chapter on ‘Your Kingdom Come’ as he points out that in praying this prayer we are praying for the end of the world and the harvest of judgement that the verse quoted so clearly speaks about.

So if we pray the prayer or sing the hymn and if we believe the words of Scripture let us ask God to give us hearts for the evangelism of our fellow men and women and the action that must follow.