Gleanings

"Where did you glean today?" (Ruth 2:19).

Where have we gleaned? From what and whose fields have we gathered our sustenance? If the field is sparse and rotten, we can't gather much that is good for us and, in turn, good for those who depend on us for their spiritual nourishment. Whose field is it, God's or Satan's? If we gather from Satan's field of the world, we have nothing but thorns and thistles; if it is God's field, we will gather lilies in a white field. "Even now [we] harvest the crop for eternal life" (John 4:36).

What have we gleaned? Will it give our spirit strength and hope and commitment or will our gleanings produce discouragement? Originally we were not supposed to know both good and evil: "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil..." (Genesis 2:16). What bitter and tainted fruit has come from what we view and hear!

How have we gleaned? Is it with prayer that we will be worthy of our calling and our wage? Is it with immense gratitude and recognition of who our Husbandman is, and that it is He who has given us strength to learn and to earn? "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Who have we gleaned from? "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20b). Jesus chose twelve unlearned men to start His revolution of love and not the learned of His day. It is Jesus we go to for true knowledge: "Seek first his kingdom...and all [else] will be given to you..." (Matthew 6:33).

Why have we gleaned? Is it for God's glory and honor? Is it to be of service to God's people in the field of the world? Blessed are the meek, the gentle, the nurturers, for they will reap the earth!