21Nov16

2Timothy 2:6
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Around Thanksgiving I start to think more about where my food come from. Maybe it's the pictures of the Pilgrims (no I don't still believe my thanksgiving meal was prepared by guys and gals in black smocks with tall buckled hats... not anymore). Maybe it's the cornucopias or the thought of unending trails of the most decedent food a man can have. But, whatever it is, I tend to think about farmers. The effort that was put into bringing that feast to my table has something to do with my amazing wife and her skills in the domestic sciences but, there were countless lives that went into my food before it hit the table. I wonder if they are getting the first share. God wants us to know that, while rest is important, so is the benefit of hard work. The most fresh, natural, and choicest product is at the hands of the farmer to take as they please. It is the reward of their labors. When we work for the benefit of God and others there is a primary production of relationship, healing, love, and joy. I'll take the first share of that any day. Are you deserving of the first share or are you waiting down the line to just pay for what someone else has produced? Are you enjoying the first share of your efforts or are you letting them pass by?