Monday, June 09, 2014

We Shall Come Rejoicing Bringing In The Sheaves

Remember the hymn from your childhood (or earlier!) called "Bringing in the Sheaves"? A friend of mine says that every time he heard in the church he grew up in it sounded like a funeral dirge. Yes, farming is hard work and harvesting by hand must have been great labor. But the song talks about sowing the gospel and reaping a harvest of those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. "We shall come REJOICING bringing in the sheaves!"

The idea of rejoicing while bringing in the sheaves comes from Psalm 126. The writer starts by reminding his kinsmen how joyful they were after they returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. They had been exiled because they strayed from God's commands. While in exile they returned to the Lord and the Lord brought them home. It must have been an exciting time. They were full of joy and hope.

But the middle of the psalm holds the writers cry to God to bring them back to the time of joy and hope. He wrote the psalm after enough time had passed since being released from exile that the people had grown complacent with the freedom and restoration God had provided. Can you hear the godly man crying, "God, take us back to that time of refreshing"?

God responds with a simple reply: "If you want to return to the joy and hope you once knew you will have to sow in tears." In other words, they must repent of their sins. Repentance was the key to renewal after exile. Repentance was the key to renewal after complacency. Repentance is the key to your own renewal. If you are not walking as closely with the Lord as you once did, repentance opens the avenue to restored joy and hope that is missing in your life now.

Then God adds a statement that speaks of his mission in this world. Those who have repented and experienced the joy are then sent with a bag of seed (the gospel) to share with others. Do you remember the story Jesus told about the farmer who scattered seed among the different types of soil? We are to sow the gospel among all those who do not know Jesus as Savior. We must have a burden that all will hear the Good News. If we are faithful to spread our bag of seed we can be assured the joy of knowing people will follow Jesus and escape the punishment of hell for their sins.

Do you remember a time when you confessed your sins and repented of them? Remember how liberated you felt? Remember the joy and peace that swept over you? Remember what it was like to be so "right" with God? But have you drifted away by sin into complacency or busyness? Those who sow in tears will reap in joy! You can know that nearness again. And you can help others come to or return to the Lord, too.

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