Words to Treasure
Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.
Mark 4:29
Natalie felt very small beside the big combine that was going to harvest the family wheat field. A combine is a big cutting tractor that cuts down, thrashes, and loads wheat into grain trucks. Her dad climbed up and threw open the door. “Natalie, you want to make the first round with me? I might let you drive a little.”
“Really!” She climbed into the cab.
“Maybe.” He started the engine, and she felt the big machine move forward. In front of them was a sea of beautiful golden wheat. Natalie had helped plant the seeds, and every night she had prayed for good weather for a good harvest. Someday Natalie would be in charge of the farm, and she wanted to learn everything about being a good farmer.
We may not realize it, but God has planted in each of us a seed of love and understanding of him. Then God gives us everything we need to grow and learn — a family, teachers, and pastors. Jesus and the Holy Spirit also help us understand heavenly things. God is patient like a farmer knowing that someday we will grow into grown-up believers. That’s God’s kind of harvest.
In Bible times, the harvesting machines of the day were oxen-, donkey-, and manpowered. A farmer cut down the wheat by hand with a big blade called a sickle. Then the wheat was loaded onto donkeys or oxen and taken out of the field. Animal and man working together.