Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-07-10


to be In any way circumscribcd. But
it is not The invitation is so wide
that it takes In all who IRE ready TO
be clennsed Of sin. The invitation is
so wide that the welcome comes from
every direction. THE Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say come And let him that
Is athirst come. And whatsoever will
let him take the water Of life freely"
That surely is n broad enough invita-
ton for ALL
And what a harvest home that will
be when all the gospel sheaves shall
be gathered into the granaries Of
heaven! The rejoicing will be every
where. Some Of us have seen the noted
picture of the painter Seifert, called
THE Harvesters' Return" We have
seen there the joyful looks upon the
faces Of the men and the women who
have been working in the fields. Per
haps we ourselves have lived in the
country. We have shared in the Joy
of the laborers when the last sheaf of
wheat has been taken to the thrashing
floors, but the joy Of the earthly har-
vest home is as nothing compared to
the heavenly Joy when all the gospel
sheaves shall be gathered into the
heavenly granaries. Fathers and moth
ers and children, they will all be there.
Brothers and sisters, they shall be
there. Husbands and wives, friends
and loved ones, they shall be there.
From the north. the east. the south and
the west Of the heavenly lands will be
heard the cry: Harvest home harvest
home, harvest home. This is the cter-
nal harvest home."
Sad to his toll he goes.
His seed with weeping leaves.
But he shall come Mt twlight's close
And bring his golden sheaves.
Now. as the gospel sowcr who casts
his bread upon the waters shall reap
such glorious harvests, shall we not
redouble our energies and plant as
many good seeds as we can for Christ
Shall we not do as much good as we
can in the few years that remain for
us? Shall we not thank God that he
has given to us an opportunity to
work and to live for him? Shall VIC
not find our JOY and reward in sowing
and in scattering our gospel seed over
the field of sin, in scattering our good
deeds over the great troubled sea of
humanity:
To show what rewards can come
from casting the seeds abroad the sto-
ry Is told that in the far cast a father
lay dying. lie called to his bedside
his five boys and told them that he had
nothing to leave them but his farm
but that in the fields Of that farm was
buried very rich treS sure, and If they
wanted to become rich they should &C
and dig tho fields until they found it
So after the father was buried the five
boys took their spades and picks and
plows and went to work. They dug
the fields up far and near; they dug
them very deep; they dug them over
and over again, but they could not fine
the treasure. AS they had dug the
fields so deep. the boys decided to plan,
them. Then. when the harvests came
and were gathered and sold and the
money filled the family treasury, the
boys began to think. They said tC
themselves. Perhaps, after all, thu
rich treasure which our father ha(
promised us has been dug up by oul
spades and plows." Their treasure
, came not in the gold quarried from {
, dark mine, but in the mintcd gold Of {
wheat shcaf. So Christ, like the dying
, father, bids us find our gospel treas
ures by casting the good seed into tn,
| ground, by scattering it upon the SCI
| Of sinful humanity. Then we shall
reap the golden harvests which shall
: be garnercd in the granaries Of heaven
Would that we all might be willing
to go forth TO this gospel planting
3 Would that we all might get our heart
In touch with Christ, so that we nigh
} consecrate our lives for the might,
5 work OF spreading the gospel and 70
= gathering in harvest of ncror dyin
souls. This Is no idle hope | offer t
. you. The sacred word emphaticall
r says that If any Christian sower goet
t forth bearing precious seed he sha
come again with rejoicing. bringin
his sheaves with him at the earthl
and heavenly harvest home.
tCopyriGh' iono. Louis IIlopsch, N. "