Christmas Harvest

 "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6

    Bathed in the warmth of worship, as the stained glass windows reflected the Christmas eve candles, voices softly sang "Silent Night." As our prayerful hymn drew to a close, the pastor bade us to raise our candles high, recalling how each flame had drawn its beginning from the Christ Candle. After we extinguished them, wisps of smoke gently pushed us out into the darkness to be the lights of the world our Savior called us to be.

    On our drive home, my husband and I wended through neighborhoods to see the lights and decorations. The spiritual high I was on came down like a popped balloon as I listlessly looked at the holiday panorama; a dinosaur munching on an elf, a pajama-clad sloth, a flamingo wrapped in a scarf. The final straw for me was seeing a gingerbread man entering an outhouse. I was hard-pressed to spot a nativity or any other reminder of the Reason for the season.

    The hollow emptiness of it all threatened to steal my joy until God spoke to me through His word the next day, using the above verse. Could it be that the secular decorations, sprouting across lawns like weeds, were a direct result of seedless planting? Perhaps there was no bountiful harvest because the farmers had not cast any seeds!

    "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." (Romans 10:17) It's possible that those who dwell in these decorated homes heard the gospel but rejected it, but maybe there are some who have not been told that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, who was sent into the world to save the world. 

    Wouldn't it be glorious if everyone's yards displayed the good news of the incarnation, a testament to the boundless joy of the homeowner?  If that's something we'd like to see, we've got our work cut out for us before next Christmas. So, strap on your seed bag and start casting them in the power of the Holy Spirit.

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." John 4:35