Focus: Spiritual Gleaning Or Gathering?

Text: Phil.4:8

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONEST, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE, and if there be any PRAISE, think on these things."

Last time we talked about Ruth gleaning from the field of Boaz. Knowing that gleaning meant picking the best of the worst, Boaz purposely and graciously dropped the best of his harvest for Ruth to gather for herself. Boaz said to the reapers, "And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not" (Ruth 2:16). This is similar to what our greater Boaz, Jesus Christ, has done for us. Knowing that all the flesh and the world have to offer us is, at most, the best of the worst, Christ has, by His death and resurrection, dropped for us the best of heaven to gather together and make use of, for our spiritual development and manifestation in this world.

Instead of gleaning the best of the worst, which the world and the flesh are capable of, we have a wealth of spiritual crops made available by the Spirit of the Lord for us to gather for our spiritual benefit.

God has graciously and purposely dropped heavenly things for us here on earth to gather and use for our earthly journey. They are spiritual graces - moral virtues and values.

Let us see the list of spiritual crops made available for us to enrich our spiritual lives with.

*True things, not fake

*Honest things

*Just things, not bad

*Pure things, not dirty

*Lovely things, not ugly

*Good report things

*Virtuous things

*Praiseworthy things

These are the spiritual crops dropped from heaven by Christ for us.

Let us fill our hearts with them! Our Christian life is better with them. Our spiritual light shines through them. We illuminate the world by them. We attract others to the Lord by them. It is through them that we become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We glow in them. God is glorified by us because of them.

There's no need for us to glean the best of the worst from the flesh and the world when we have in abundance the best of heaven. The best of heaven requires no gleaning; only gathering.

The world has nothing of heaven to give us. The flesh has nothing of God to offer us. John declares, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1Jh.2:16). What is there to glean from this kind of world? Paul calls Satan the god of this world. So what is there to glean from a world ruled by Satan? Paul says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing…" (Rom.7:18). Jesus Christ says, "The flesh profiteth nothing" (Jh.6:63). 

Tell me, what then is there to glean from such a flesh - a flesh in which nothing good dwells? No, we are not gleaning anything from the flesh and the world. Rather we are gathering the harvest of the Spirit. Let's enrich our lives and faith with the crops of Christ-centered spirituality!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter