While it is Day...the Wayfarer

While it is Day

John 9:4 KJV 

 ⁴I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

This old preacher often finds himself tired. It is a bone-weariness  that comes from the simple necessity of work, not yet accomplished, the obvious ripeness of a field in need of harvest, with far too few laborers committed to that harvest, far too much fruit left in a field  where machinery gleans the grain spitting out precious seed into the wagons, and onto the ground as well with each turn of the gears propelling it.

Like others of my kind, that weariness is of my own choosing only because of the necessity.

Strength is garnered from  the rest to come, that promised by Christ himself.

Matthew 11:28-30

King James Version (KJV)

²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Rest, much desired, peace of that rest, the fulfillment of purpose await... at the end of that harvest.

As an old man, the desires of an old man often intrude on the work that remains to be done, as the possibility of sitting on my porch, viewing the glory of God's creation, enjoying the warmth of a fire and the presence of an old dog that has been and remains such a faithful friend over the years give much needed comfort, hearing the beauty of the birds, crickets and fauna about me, no intrusion of the world  that summons me back to the effort required in that world of clamor and chaos created by men.

Yet that intrusion remains, will not be silenced as laborers worthy of the hire already paid on a cross become fewer and fewer, and the message preached of redemption in return for repentance becomes a whisper alongside the shout of so many promising redemption and prosperity  without ever mentioning the word repentance, or the sin that abides in each that requiring repentance.

My poverty, or that seen as such by others is my wealth, the wealth of that promised rest, the life yet to come  that exceeds the comfort to be had by ignoring the unrecognized cries of agony that are touted as joy until the day those shouting the joy of men and riches of men face the truth of the poverty of the grave.

Yes, I would far rather,(in this carnal body) enjoy the simple pleasures of letting the work go undone, retire behind locked doors to keep the world at bay. 

Then called to memory is the plight of the disciples, behind locked doors, looking for solace as they thought their purpose forever stymied and the world a place to fear  until Christ himself  provided further purpose, further strength for efforts just begun.

John 20:19-21

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

²⁰ And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Weariness wanes and pales with the memory of purpose yet to be completed that can only be completed through that very weariness.

Joy is found in the willingness of the few fellow laborers to continue the requirement of the labor all ready paid for with the blood of a Savior willing for all to come to repentance, and be granted the redemption intended them.

As long as the labor remains to be done, and the strength is given to continue that labor, rest must wait its turn, and faith in that rest must remain faith in the only One capable of providing it.

Hiding behind locked doors was not acceptable for the disciples, the message was to be spread, the hope was to be provided even in the dangers faced in a world in complete rejection of that Truth, of that hope.

The Truth of that hope, the certainty of the resurrection, could not be silenced by fear or weariness then or now.

2 Timothy 1:12 KJV

¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer