Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. James 5:7
When I was in Grade 10 (never mind how long ago that was), I thought I had a good excuse for not studying for my final exams: the Lord was going to come before June! I had good reason to believe that. There was a large group of young Christians who were receiving some good ministry from some excellent teachers. And one of their favourite subjects was the Rapture. We became very interested in the subject, and many of us were convinced that the Rapture must be very near. We were right to be excited at the prospect of the Lord’s coming for us, but I was wrong to place my own timing on it. I did pass my exams, but I could have done better with more study. I should have heeded today’s text.
The day will come when the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). Although we can read the signs and watch the world’s rushing into the conditions that must exist at the Lord’s coming, we need to be careful that we don’t assume we know when it will happen. We can be excited that His coming is near, but we must remain patient until we hear the shout, the voice, and the trump. That’s because our Lord requires that we remain working, waiting, and watching until His return.
The picture that our text paints is that of a farmer who is expecting a great harvest, a farmer who has put his best effort into the planting, the cultivation, and the watering of the crop. It would do him no good to try to harvest the grain or pull the turnips or dig the potatoes until the crop is ready. There simply would not be a crop. So the Lord desires us to accept that it takes time, and it takes the rain from heaven, to produce the crop. We need patience just as the farmer does. As we preach the Gospel, and support those who preach it, we acknowledge that salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9), and leave the saving to God. As we support the feeding of the flock of God, we know that we can’t force Christians to become more spiritual; that is the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: ‘I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase’ (1 Corinthians 3:6).
We are almost surely in the days of the latter rain. How patiently are we waiting for the precious fruit as we watch for our Lord’s return? – Jim MacIntosh