The Gardeners Field - Rethinking The Harvest

Forward by Rob McLeod August, 2023Many things that we choose to read in our spare time fail to challenge or provoke us to a deeper understanding of the Lord and His ways. This book is different. It bucks the status quo by addressing some of the deeper questions that will arise in our spiritual walk with Jesus if we carefully read Scripture and by the Spirit seek to apply it. By grace through faith one is mercifully transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus.
This event is often referred to as becoming "born again." But what next? This book considers the eternal purpose of God and the participatory role that the believer has in accomplishing this purpose. If we are honest with ourselves, our willful submission to the Lord's call on our lives is often sluggish at best. Are there consequences if we fail to say "yes" to the Lord's promptings? Are all believers equally faithful? If faithfulness in the life of a believer is automatic why does Scripture so frequently exhort the church to overcome? The Lord, the master Gardener, is seeking a harvest of mature believers and He is going to great lengths to obtain it.
In biblical times the grain harvest was accomplished in multiple stages: the firstfruits, the majority harvest, and then the gleanings. This book describes how the future harvest of believers could be accomplished in a similar pattern. Have you ever considered that your place in His harvest may be linked to your faithfulness in this life? Have you ever considered that salvation is for sinners but rewards are given to saints for faithfulness subsequent to salvation? Are you in the process of acquiring the "fine linen" in order to participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19)? Are you a wise virgin prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, or are you a foolish one consumed with the affairs of this life (Matthew 25)? If you have never considered weighty questions such as these then prayerfully consider if you should read this book.
But don't just take the author's words for it. Be a Berean and search the Scriptures to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11). Although I do not yet see everything clearly, the careful consideration of the preceding questions has been extremely beneficial for my spiritual walk.