Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sharing The Harvest

I live in the small town of Thompson.
We have many houses and some have small,home style gardens,what they called,during world war two a victory garden.
Just big enough to feed your family,with some left over to store for the upcoming fall and winter months ahead.
Today while coming home from the grocery store,one of my neighbors had a basket of squash,sitting on top of a folding chair,with a small cardboard sign in front that said "free".
This is not an uncommon sight around here,many people get a bumper crop of vegetables all at once and since they can not possibly store so much they share with those in want or need,asking for nothing in return.
Today I got to thinking about when Jesus and his disciples were walking through the wheat fields,on a Sabbath day and decided to eat some of the wheat heads,related to their hunger.
Later a Pharisee reprimanded him for picking crops on a Sabbath saying it was considered work and there fore a sin in the eyes of God.
Jesus told him that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath,in other words if your hungry you have the right to pick and eat because you are not doing work you are feeding your self,even on a holy day of rest.
God wants his children's needs to be met and hunger is one of those needs.
Did you ever wonder why Jesus was not reprimanded for taking food that did not belong to him?
Back in the times of Moses,when God spoke to him,he made it clear that every Jewish person who raised and harvested food,had to leave the outer perimeters of their fields unharvested just so the poor and hungry could have some,because it was,and still is,our mission as children of God to take care of our neighbors needs by feeding the hungry,clothing the poor,helping the widows and orphans and not making people feel ashamed of their poverty.
We are to this day,to give open handily what every we can to those less fortunate.
My neighbors,through the goodness of their hearts,and not wanting food to go to waste,may not know it but they too are following this law from God and helping their neighbor by offering free vegetables to those who want or need them.
God bless their generosity,even if they don't realize what they are doing.
They may not know it but not wanting gain from what they are offering is the greatest blessing of all in the eyes of God.

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