We live in an age where recycling and restoration are both important. And so you have the popularity of media shows where antiques, old cars and houses are restored. Harvesting of crops has always been important and, with an ever-increasing number of hungry mouths to feed, will continue to be vital. So what is a ‘harvest of restoration’ would you say? Possibly it’s only a small group that can truly describe it for it is very costly! This phrase does not refer to the joy a crafts-person has when they look at their workmanship, although you can certainly understand the delight in seeing something restored to its former glory. No, this phrase is rather more subtle as those who have experienced it can tell you.
- ‘There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love’ – Bryant H. McGill
- ‘We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it’ – John Lennon
During our lives, we sow many seeds into the lives of others and reap harvests according to what we have sown. If we are unforgiving then we reap a bitter heart and the loss of relationships. Admittedly, it is often far easier to do that than to forgive, but doing so is like spreading weeds that tangle, choke and ruin what could instead be a good harvest. Farmers have to work hard for a good harvest as they wrestle with weeds, pests and weather conditions. Have you witnessed the power of forgiveness to heal and restore relationships? Perhaps you’ve been the one needing to forgive someone or the one who has received forgiveness. If so, you will have experienced the harvest of restoration first hand.
- ‘“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field”’ – Matthew 9:37-38
- ‘The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest’ – Psalm 85:12
- ‘What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit’ – Galatian 6:7-9 (The Message)
The harvest of our lives is something that God is especially interested in. In John 15, Jesus describes his Father as being like a farmer who tends the vine for a good crop. The bearing of much fruit in relationships is something that brings joy and honour to God. After all, Jesus came to restore our relationship with God through that most costly way of the cross where all our wrong-doing was put right. Here are three beautiful fruits – a restored life, a healed friendship and a renewed marriage. All of them involve humility as forgiveness is given and received. The expectation Jesus has of us is that we show forgiveness and grace to others in the same way as we have received it. This is seen clearly in Matthew 18:21-35 though his parable of the unforgiving servant.
- ‘Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten”’ – Joel 2:22-25
If you can think of relationships around you that look like a field devastated by a locust invasion, why not ask God to restore it and to show you what steps you can take towards that. If you do, you will be one of that number who understands first-hand what the harvest of restoration is, a truly beautiful thing.