I love pottering in my garden when the weather permits. I find it quite relaxing, an opportunity to have time and space for myself. Also, as I weed my flower beds I appreciate the beauty and diversity of God’s creation.
We all tend to be so busy that we don’t stop and really look at what is around us. If we did, we would see many magnificent wonders of nature such as the changing colours of the leaves.
The Bible tells us about how God created our world and saw that it was good.
This month we will celebrate harvest in church when we have the opportunity to thank God for our wonderful world and for the food it provides for us.
We probably have a favourite food, but we usually take our food for granted. We might know what it feels like to be hungry as we wait for our next meal. However many people know hunger, and don’t know when or if there will be a next meal.
Unfortunately, there are millions of people in our world who through no fault of their own, know the real meaning of hunger.
Thankfully we can help people in Liverpool by supporting the local food banks. In doing so we are putting into practice Jesus’ command ‘to love each other and care for the needy’.
As we consider the harvest we must ask ourselves how we can look after our world and in doing so help the hungry and the poor.
As Christians we believe God loves everyone whatever their colour, gender, creed or age and we must love them also. One way we can show this love is to be environmentally aware. The Bible describes the world as if it is a garden and we are all gardeners.
If we are to show care for the world we must use only what is really necessary. If people didn’t take more than their fair share we wouldn’t have so many starving. The world produces enough food for everyone.
We must try to conserve the world’s natural resources. No doubt you will have seen the advert on television about saving water. We may laugh now that we have rain, but I recently read that by 2025, yes in 7 years’ time, two thirds of the world won’t have enough water, already 1 billion don’t have clean water to drink.
In the Bible Jesus told many stories about the harvest to help explain how we can spread the good news of his love.
The harvest also gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like when there will be true life in God’s love.
Blessings, Sheila
(This article was originally published as part of St David’s Messenger in October 2018)