Harvest is the opportunity for us to stop and realise just how good God is to us and to give thanks. That God is with us, that we have indeed tasted that God is good, but maybe we just need to remember how good that taste is.
As we celebrate harvest today, certainly we acknowledge the goodness of God and the faithfulness of God because God is good and faithful. We also acknowledge the reality of the world in which we live. It is hard, it is painful, it is worrying. Part of what it is to celebrate the goodness of God is to throw ourselves on that goodness by confessing that all of this pain stems from the fact we are sinful.
Jesus’ kingship and lordship is more about recognising his holiness, his righteousness, his glory, the pleasure the Father has taken in him, in other words Jesus’ kingship is about giving him our worship because we recognise that he is Jesus, he is the Christ, he is the Lord.
The offering, our tithe, our harvest contributions, the United Appeal or Tearfund lunch are all for our benefit. They are part of our worship because they teach us to trust God. We are called to give, not just what we can afford, but the first fruits, the best of our harvest, the best of our wages, time, the best from our larder because we need to learn to believe in God. To have faith in him.