Harvest Time Looks Ahead!

I love the autumn season. It is this time of year where the weather is cooler and the colors are vibrant. I also love winter as well because, for those living in the north it means snow! 

Yet, harvest time is a beautiful time of year for sure! It is the last glimpse of the variety of color! 

Meterologist are not farmers but both have one thing in common. They both look ahead.

This time of year the harvest is being brought into the storehouse! In Luke we find the most interesting passage of scripture.

Luke 9:62
“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’”

This passage has many significant meetings and interpretations but the one that caught me today is perhaps speaking to me. My guess is that you’ve been there too if we were to sit down over coffee and discuss.

My schedule is full, just like yours. It seems that the more active that I am, the less I feel productive. At least I would expect more outcomes because of being more busy. You’ve been there too.

As I read this passage I am reminded that I need to always look ahead. Like the farmer and the meteorologist, they are both future oriented. Even when receiving the harvest, it is put in the store houses for future use.

When I planted my little garden I needed to mark my lines carefully. Had I looked back my lines would not have been straight. For those using a plow, the focus had to be on the future in order to see a straight line. Those that look back drifted to the left or to the right. John Green right, “if you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working on it.”

For those using a plow, the focus had to be on the future in order to see a straight line. Those that look back drifted to the left or to the right.

If I set up my schedule, I should always be looking beyond the moment just see the horizon. Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

The Scripture says that if we join the family of faith, we should settle in for the long-haul and not the most recent benefits. The benefits come in the long-haul as well as in the short distance but we need not abandon our mission when the going gets rough.

Long-range objectives are what keep us going. We don’t quit when we receive short term gains! Investors will tell us that about our money. So too, our Lord wants us to be looking ahead and investing in His Calling and mission.

The Impact of The Father

In the Bible, Titus 2:6 reads; “…. In the same way encourage the young men to live wisely!”

I cannot speak about the role and impact of the father without talking about the role model on my own father. But woven in is how I came to understand the role of my heavenly father and the importance of that testimony in my Christian walk.

“Everyone knows we have a “men problem.” Unfortunately, the problem is getting worse, not better. And young men especially are paying the price. Many are in chaos, and all are struggling to figure out how to do life.” Online article -Man in the Mirror.
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When elephants overcrowded South Africa’s Kruger National Park, the government authorized killing adult elephants and relocating their children to other parks.

As the orphaned male elephants became teenagers, they were clueless about what “normal” behavior looked like. When their testosterone levels spiked the orphaned males turned aggressive.

In one park they savagely killed 36 rhinos. A park ranger watched as one elephant knocked over a rhino, trampled it, then drove a tusk through its chest. The situation was out of control.

Then rangers brought six adult bull elephants into one of the parks. They mentored the younger bulls to see what normal behavior looked like. No more rhinos were killed after the bigger bulls arrived.
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Make a list of the positive men who have been influential in your life.

** The men that have poured into our lives. GOD is The Father to the fatherless. 

Clyde - Candy man as strong man. (A blessing) : Example.
Pastor - Spiritual father. (A guide) : Coach.
Howard - Ministry guide : (A teacher) : Mentor

Mixed understanding of my own father/testimony.
Speaking on adoption at a funeral…my nephew question his identity stating that he is just trying to answer the question, who I am? I offered to him a better question; whose I am?

Titus 2:6 gives specific instruction about mentorship as it relates to both older men and younger men… The word “wisely” can be carefully translated “self control”.

Three types of relationship every man needs.

To be an example someone younger. (Eli w/ Samuel)
To be a coach / guide to a peer. (Jonathan and David / Paul w/Barnabas)
To be mentored by an elder.  (Paul with Timothy)

Titus 1 gives instruction on being an person of influence. Paul talks about being honest and trustworthy. Paul defines the qualities that it takes to be a teacher, a person if influence. Nowhere does Paul say that we can force someone to listen.

Influence us something that comes because of the investment that has been made in the life of another. Influence is what happens as a result of a person's servanthood.

Be a person of influence; pour yourself into others. Be a person of influence; spend time investing into others. Be a person of influence; work to be respected. Be a person of influence; care for others.

George Webster Douglas: “A father is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.”

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https://maninthemirror.org/2012/04/17/205-mentoring-younger-men/