Are You Part of the Harvest?

Are You Part of the Harvest? by Leah Smith | posted 8/7/2002

Our family bought the farm this year… As in we bought a share in a local organic vegetable farm. What this means is that if things go well, we get a bounty of fresh vegetables every week - and if a particular crop fails, the risk is spread throughout the shareholders and the burden isn’t completely on the farmer.

Why did we join our local farm? Because we wanted to be a part of the harvest. I wanted Henry to know where vegetables really come from – from the ground, and not just from a shiny refrigerator bin at Safeway. I wanted him to feel the earth and see the plants as they grow to become our food. I wanted all of us to meet the farmer (it’s actually a whole extended family) and be more connected with the things that end up on our plate. Our local farmland is also rapidly disappearing due in part to high real estate prices, and I wanted to make an investment in keeping this fertile soil around.

Each week when we go to pick up our share at the farm, Henry and I make an outing of it. He runs wild on his two-year-old feet, zooming between the rows (ok, and sometimes on TOP of the rows – oops). We pick the flowers that were planted for the members, and we snip what we want from the herb garden. Henry points out all the plants on “our” farm and “helps” pull weeds.

While we were enjoying the farm on a sunny day last week, I got to thinking about harvesting. Even though I do not work the land of the farm, I can walk it, enjoy it, and eat the bounty. Henry gets to pull his own carrots out of the Kids’ Upick Garden. I thought of the verses in Matthew where Jesus talks about the harvest – the harvest of bringing others into a personal relationship with Him. Where am I in God’s harvest? Am I close to the land, tilling the soil, or do I observe the harvest from a Safeway-comfortable distance? As you read above, it is easy for me to talk passionately about Community Shared Agriculture. All my friends know about “our” farm, and are probably tired of hearing about it! As I was sharing with one particular friend, I was struck cold - although all my friends know about my CSA passion, do they know about my true passion? – my faith in Jesus Christ?

I need to look for more ways to be a part of the harvest. Jesus called us all to go and make disciples of all nations. It’s not work that I can just let someone else do. Of course we all have our strengths and talents that God uses, but the harvest can’t be brought in if the workers are not there. I need to be as passionate about sharing the news of God’s love as I am about the news of shared agriculture. This scares me – it is risky. But just as the risk in our farm is not borne by one person, the risk of sharing the gospel is spread out over all who believe. One step I am making is inviting some friends to Puget Sound Festival. The entertainment is already there, and Luis will share the message of God’s love. I just need to pray for my friends and bring them along. It’s a risk, but there can be no harvest without risk.