Together The Fields Are Ripe

“Together” A Son That Sleeps in Harvest
CAUSES SHAME

Proverbs 10:5 says:
‘He that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.’

Each Generation must reap its own harvest. The fields are now ripe.

by Vinson Synan

. Every family has known prodigal sons who disgraced their parents’ name and wasted the family fortune with wild and dissolute living. This has happened in every generation. Usually such prodigal sons cause shame to their parents by dabbling in Alcohol, drugs and lewd sexual behavior. . The scriptures also reveal another way that their children can cause shame: ‘he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.’

. Every farmer knows that the harvest is the busiest season of the year. All the labor and care that has been lavished on the crops for months can be lost in the few days of harvest. Generally harvest time is very short and requires all hands to work, often from dawn to dusk, to gather in the crops. At any time the fall rains could come and destroy the precious harvest. Harvrest is crisis time on the farm.

. For a farmer to have a lazy, indolent son sleeping all say during harvest would be the height of shame for the family. It would be a disgrace if Farmer Brown had to hire outside help while his strong healthy son was sleeping.

. The Lord is interested in a spiritual harvest of souls to be gathered into the fold before the end of the age. This is what Jesus meant in John 4:35 when He said: ‘Do not say, there are yet four months, and then comes the havest? I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.’

. It is a law of nature that one can only reap the 1987 harvest in 1987. It cannot be gathered in 1986 or 1988. All previous generations had the the opportunity of gathering their harvests. “Now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation” summarizes the truth of the unique harvest time of each generation.

. This generation has the largest harvest to reap of any generation in history. Statisticians tell us that as many as one third of all human beings since the time of Adam are alive at this very moment. The Population explosion of this century has given this generation by far the largest number of people to be won to the Lord ever. Although Christianity claims one third of the world population, two-thirds need to acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour.

. The greatest shame will come in the judgement day when all Christians stand before the judgement seat of Christ to receive rewards for the deeds done in this life (Romans 14:10). The question will not be heaven or hell, but rewards for faithful service to the Lord. The Scriptures speak of some who will be “saved, yet so as by fire” and others who “will suffer loss”.

. The saddest thing that could be imagined for believers who stand before the Lord in judgement would be for the Father to say; “I am ashamed of you because you slept in the time of my greatest harvest.” What a shame to enter heaven without one person that you led to the Lord. What a shame to hear those who missed heaven because of your unwillingness to witness as they wail “the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20)

. The same verse that says “he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame.” also states: “he that gathers in the summer is a wise son.” Thus, the smartest, wisest, and most important thing a young person can do with his life is to evangelize others and bring them to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

This article is from Vol 2 no. 1 of AD2000 “TOGETHER”

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