{"id":1204,"date":"2013-10-25T05:32:36","date_gmt":"2013-10-25T11:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=1204"},"modified":"2013-10-25T05:32:36","modified_gmt":"2013-10-25T11:32:36","slug":"the-final-harvest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-final-harvest\/","title":{"rendered":"When the fruit isn’t ripe, but the season is at an end"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

The bite of fall is in the air.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n

It snuck in while we weren\u2019t watching. The mountains have already had a touch of snow. The rivers have slowed in their flow. And there are signs are all around us.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the leaves in the trees are slightly off-color, the mornings are a little crisper, and the evenings a little darker. Even my body is slowing, preparing for the next change in seasons.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be long, now.<\/em><\/p>\n

And then there are the tomatoes. They hang in bunches in the back yard. Their crop has been full of promise. Thick and rich with round living ornaments, the plants bow deeply, kissing the ground with heaviness. There is nothing like a pungent smell of a tomato plant, rushing to the end of the season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

The fruit (or is it a vegetable?) isn\u2019t ready. I had a beautiful crop this year. Yet there are at least 200 cherry tomatoes still hanging \u2014 a pale green, weeks away from harvest .Will they beat the coming frost? How much more time do they need. I am eager for a harvest, but I\u2019m nervous. I\u2019ll check the forecast to see that the big chill is coming. And I fully expect that one day I\u2019ll walk outside,\u00a0thinking green, and instead be surprised by the deep red of fullness.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been at this Christian walk for years \u2014 no, decades. And like these green tomatoes, I droop in immaturity. I\u2019m not ready for Christ to come. I\u2019m not ready to go home. I still need a few more days \u2014 or weeks \u2014 or years. But I\u2019m not sure how much time I have, as no man really knows.<\/p>\n

\"Green<\/a>While I eagerly wait for the day of His appearing to come, I need some maturity<\/strong>. I want to go home\u2026 I do, but I\u2019m afraid that I\u2019m just too green. I want to be ready.<\/p>\n

Psalm 90 talks of \u201cnumbering our days, so that we may get a heart of wisdom.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0It laments,<\/strong> \u201cHow long, O Lord? How long?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>And it encourages<\/strong>, \u201cSatisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad in all our days\u2026Let the favor the Lord our God be upon us.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>It reiterates<\/strong> that we need to need to continue to work, right up to the end.\u00a0\u201cYes, establish the work of our hands!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Harvest should be a time of rejoicing. And I want to get at the point in my life when I do not fear this season. Because I\u2019ll be ready.<\/p>\n

How about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Enhanced<\/a><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tomatoes are still green, but the freeze is coming. It’s sad that they won’t make it. I don’t want to fear the final season. I want to be ready.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1037,1070,1482,1129,1532],"class_list":["post-1204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-autumn-harvest","tag-christian-maturity","tag-david-rupert","tag-frost","tag-tomato"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen the fruit isn't ready and the season is near the end<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And like these green tomatoes, I droop in immaturity. To be honest, I want to go home, but I'm not ready. 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