Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up.
Galatians 6:9 NIRV
Reaping
Cyrus McCormick built and demonstrated a mechanical reaper in 1831. Up to that time standing grain had to be cut with a scythe and then gathered by hand to be tied into sheaves and stooked for drying. As well sheaves were often carried off to a barn for drying. In 1931, the International Harvester Company made a number of replicas of the original 1831 McCormick reaper as promotional items. These replicas were donated to various agricultural Colleges and Universities, the University of Manitoba being one of these institutions.
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It isn’t surprising that Christians are known, even by our government, to be the most generous of people. In a country where only a small minority of the population give to charities, those who follow Christ give to a far greater extent than others. This makes sense, since the Bible calls us to love others as Jesus has loved us. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up.” One of the big questions atheists ask about our God is “where is He when children are starving, and horrible things happen?” The answer is us – the followers of Jesus. We are the body of Christ, and we are called to be His hands, His feet, His heart where the need is the greatest. A CBC journalist became a follower of Jesus because He discovered that even before the press got to the world’s latest disaster Christians were already there serving the suffering. Followers of Jesus have no choice. We are called to be Jesus where the need is greatest, and to never tire of doing so.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley