Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1902-07-12

SEED might hesitate 10 cast the Dreau
Of life upon the troubled sea Of. sin
If he thought the gospel invitation was
TO be in any way circumscribed. But
it is not. The invitation is so wide
that it takes I'm all who are ready to
be cleansed 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 whOsOever will
let him take the water of life freely"
That surely is 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 Haryesters' 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
sheayes 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 eter-
nal harvest home.'
Sad to his toll he goes,
His s ed with weeping leaves,
But he shall come at twilights close
And bring his golden sheaves
Now, as the gospel sower who casts
his bread upon the waters shall reap
such glorious haryests, shall we not
redOuble our energies and plant as
many good seeds rs 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 we
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 east father
lay dying. He 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 a very rich treasure, and if they
wanted to become rich they should go
and dig the 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 find
the treasure. AS they had dug the
fields so deep. the boys decided TO plant
them. Then when the harvests came
and were gathered and sold and the
money filed the family treasury, the
boys began to think. They said to
themselves. perhaps, after all, the
rich treasure which our father had
promised us has been dug up by our
spades and plOws" Their treasure
came not in the gold quarried from
dark mine but in the minted gold Of
wheat sheaf SO Christ, like the dying
father. bids us find our gospel treas
ures by casting the good seed into the
ground. by scattering it upon the sea
of sinful humanity. Then we shall
reap the golden harvests which shall
be garnered in the granaries Of heaven.
Would that we all might be willing
to go forth to this gospel planting!
Would that we all might get our hearts
I'm touch with Christ, so that we might
cOnsecrate our lives for the mighty
work of spreading the gospel and for
gathering iE a harvest Of never dying
souls This is no idle hope offer to
you The sacred word emphatically
says that if any Christian sOwer goeth
forth bearing precious seed he shall
come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him at the earthly
and heavenly harvest home.
copyright, 1902. Louis Klopsch, N. VI